The Power Of A Letter
by animeloveramy
Summary: He knew very well what the power one letter was able to produce, what difference one letter could make to the world. What he never realised was that this letter in particular had the power to destroy his entire world.
1. Prologue

**Summery - He knew very well what the power one letter was able to produce, what difference one letter could make to the world. What he never realised was that **_**this**_** letter was about to destroy his entire world. **

**Just a little note, this is not a yoai story and it not suposed to contain any romance though I may add some hints of it in here and there...**

**I do not own either Harry Potter or bleach; they belong to their respective owners. **

'_**I can live for two months on a good compliment.**_**'  
Mark Twain**

**oxo…oxo**

All was quiet in the grounds around Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry as Dumbledore cast his twinkling blue eyes over the green grass of the hill that was usually, and so often in the summer months, a bright emerald colour; glowing brilliantly in the mid summer sun. But today it was groggy; a dull green that would seem more at home as the colour of algae growing in some pond in an unsuspecting muggle's back garden. Well, that was Dumbledore's opinion at least.

It was August of 1992 and all the students were home for the holidays meaning that the old wizard had the castle practically to himself and it made the place seem even bigger to him. This was also due to several other things the most relevant being that, even with all of the teachers that resided here, it was unlikely for him to come across one of them while roaming the halls of the large school. He was never really sure what exactly they did in the few months between school years and he didn't want to invade upon their personal lives now. He knew that, if he should need them, he would be able to find them easily.

But he was nervous this holiday maybe even more than the last. In September Harry Potter would be arriving here again, like the year before, full of questions he would need to have answered. Last year he had encountered Voldemort, fought him, beaten him but almost lost his life doing so. It would have been a lie to say he wasn't worried about the boy. After all, he was still famous, known by all his classmates for a reason anyone would consider dreadful; because _he_ had lived while his parents had died.

Turning away from his window Dumbledore wandered slowly back to the desk that was situated in the middle of his large office. Small objects of all shapes and sized winked at him in delight, their various colours sparkling in both the light of the sun and the candle he had lit to better brighten the dim room. Fawkes made a small chattering noise in the back of his throat, shuffling his taloned feet around in an attempt to get Dumbledore's attention before there was a heavy knock at his door.

The old man looked up in slight surprise; his guest wasn't supposed to be here yet. But then he smiled slightly and told the person behind the door to come in. They did so, opening the rustic wooden door to reveal a small girl with long, platted golden hair and the most extraordinary violet eyes he had ever seen. Her features were petite and childlike and she seemed no older than thirteen though Dumbledore could tell by the way she held herself that, that wasn't the case.

"Miss Kyoko Nekome I presume?" he asked her kindly, his twinkling eyes studying her as she blinked at him before nodding, her head tipping only enough to show her answer to his question and no more. Smiling kindly he stood, motioning for her to come closer as he got out his wand and conjured up a wood backed but comfy looking chair in front of his desk.

She smiled back slightly before pulling her body around the rest of the door, revealing the remainder of her petite frame to the old man before walking over to perch timidly on the edge of the seat. She was a strange sight; dressed for winter in the middle of summer. A pair of knee length, back heeled boots, a large, grey trench coat done up to the top, leather gloves covering her hands and a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck worked together to hide the entirety of her skin that wasn't her face. Dumbledore refrained from raising an eyebrow at her choice of outfit before smiling down at the girl.

"Tea?" he asked invitingly, summoning the teapot with relative ease before setting it down on the desk and dropping back into his seat. Kyoko eyed the red metal wearily before looking back up at Dumbledore with a strange glint in her eyes.

"Thank you; that would be lovely. But, do you think we might be able to have the green tea I brought with me from Japan? I thought it might be able to repay your kindness for allowing this interview with you." She asked, her voice small. Dumbledore looked at the girl in surprise before he relaxed again slightly and smiled.

"Of course my dear, but you needn't have gone to all the trouble; I am happy to have you here." he replied, his smile widening as she smiled tentatively back at him before he set to work readying the tea, taking great care to prepare it properly before pouring it into two oriental green china cups. All the while the girl's eyes never left his hands, watching them as they twisted and flicked in an intricate dance around the teapot that also managed to include his wand at times. She seemed nervous but he pinned that down to her being in his office for this interview more than anything else.

When he had finished he passed her a cup and she took it tentatively, sipping up a small amount of the moisture before placing it back down onto its saucer and moving her exquisite eyes back onto the headmaster. Dumbledore smiled again before taking a sip of his own tea, resisting the urge to sigh as the warm liquid ran down his throat, warming his insides.

"So what job is it you wanted to apply for?" he asked, his eyes lifting up so as to watch her carefully. She blinked slowly before coming out of whatever reverie she had been pulled into.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts." She stated quietly, looking down at the desk nervously before glancing back up at Dumbledore who was still smiling. The man had gotten a lot of requests for the very same job this year and he was unsure exactly why it was so popular. Nodding his head slightly the old man leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk as he eyed the girl curiously.

"And what is it that makes you want this job?" he asked, pulling back from the girl as she shied away before picking up his cup and taking a large gulp of the cooled liquid. The girls eyes flickered down to her own cup before watching his again, seemingly contemplating whether or not she should drink more of her own.

"I…always loved defence against the dark arts and my teacher said I was good at it. I also loved teaching people so I decided I wanted to put the two together. I tried teaching it at my old school in Japan but it wasn't the same so a friend told me to come here." She explained, her voice faltering only a little as she picked up her own mug and took another baby sip from it.

Dumbledore nodded before drinking deeply from his own cup; the tea was intoxicating and he found himself longing for more, even as he finished his cup. Placing the china down with a small clink, he tried to focus on the girl in front of him but his mind was foggy. Placing a hand to his head he blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear his sight.

"Dumbledore?" the girl's voice cut in, clear and sharp. Suddenly he could focus on her again, though only on her; if he moved his gaze elsewhere he found his mind began to fog again so he didn't move his eyes, keeping them fixed on the strange girl in front of him.

"That all seems to be in order; you'll start work on September 1st." the man said, his voice slightly gargled as he tried to keep the girl from noticing his state. She nodded slightly, causing his head to whirl.

"Thank you professor. I wonder, perhaps, if you could also do me a favour?" she asked, now moving closer to him with a strange look in her suddenly sparkling eyes.

"Whatever you want." Dumbledore replied, not entirely sure what he was saying. The girl leaned closer with a small, malicious smile.

"I wonder if, perhaps, you might be able to invite Ichigo Kurosaki to your school this year." She whispered.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, prologue done. This used to be the first chapter but I changed it because it seemed more like a prologue really…I hope you all like it and decide to review!**

**Dear readers,**

**This is where I will be telling you a little about my week/day as I write each chapter. I can't really think of much to say today though; nothing much has happened. I could tell you about the fact that I started school this week. And I could tell you that I am writing this in one of my study periods…but I shouldn't really considering I should be doing work. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to be content with the fact that I can't tell you anything…**

**Animeloveramy **


	2. Chapter 1

'_**Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.'  
**_**H. L. Mencken**

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro Hitsugaya sighed mentally as he opened up the Senkaimon with his Zampakuto, twisting it in the air in order to create the large, oriental gate that so often took him between the soul society and the world of the living. He had been on a mission, a short mission he would admit, to check in on Ichigo Kurosaki and see what state Karakura town was in after its brief stint in the soul society.

Due to the recent trouble the head captain, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, had ordered that none would be allowed passage to the world of the living without the presence of a captain for at least a month after the event and, depending on reports, the time period could even be extended. What that meant for the young captain was that he was likely to be called on more missions such as this and he couldn't say he was looking forward to it.

This time they had found nothing out of the ordinary, causing him to send the rest of the group from squad ten back early to issue the report. He himself had decided to stay here for a bit longer, having been given a shopping list by his lieutenant and trusted friend, though he would never admit it to her face, Rangiku Matsumoto. The list, he _would_ admit, was strange and it was painfully obvious his second had written it as it contained a maze of things he had never known existed until that point.

Comprising of three snow globes, four packets of ramen, two magic eight balls and a shirt with the writing 'I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person' printed on it along with other random things Toushiro considered junk it had taken the young captain over two hours to find everything the list had contained and even then it had been another half an hour before he could get the Senkaimon back up and running. By that time it was late and very dark in the world of the living.

Thankful he was finally heading home and would be able to get to his nice warm bed before the sun came up in the soul society; Toushiro stepped heavily through the white light of the barrier with the hell butterfly needed to guide him through the barrier between worlds fluttering gently at his side. Ignoring it, he passed quickly through, regaining his light footing as he began to shunpo through the small tunnel before arriving at the other side, his eyes widening at what he saw.

The Seireitei was destroyed, the rubble of the once majestic and noble buildings strewn all over the place as shinigami and attacks had been blasted through them in the fight that had obviously happened here. His first thoughts as his eyes scanned the destruction were that Aizen must have somehow arranged an attack when he had been gone but after brief consideration he ruled that theory out. There was no way that anything of this magnitude could have happened in the relatively small time he had been away.

Another reason his idea had to be wrong was that if Aizen's allies had invaded between earlier that day when he had left and now then, one, he would have been notified and, two, there would still be people fighting. He could sense no heightened reitsu; no battles of any level where being fought and there was no way all of the captains would have been defeated by now; that just wasn't possible.

No, this destruction looked like it had been here a while for, as he looked closer, Toushiro could see weeds popping their heads up out from between fallen bricks and moss covering the broken walls. This place was in ruin, a place of decay that hadn't been lived in for years. Closing his eyes in a vain attempt to block out the images of his destroyed home he struggled to gather his thoughts and decide what to do.

What had happened? Who was left? Momo? Matsumoto? The head captain? Should he look for people, for places that hadn't been destroyed? He didn't see why not. Maybe he would be able to find out what had happened; what had turned what seemed to be the entire soul society into a ragged wasteland of nothing?

Opening his eyes again, Toushiro took to the roof tops, or as many as he could find, preferring the higher altitude to view the place. As he had assumed, the entire soul society including the Rukongai had been torn apart. There was no sign yet of anyone, dead or alive. It was as if someone or something had been scrounging the roads, clearing up the bodies, as he was sure there should be bodies, but leaving the buildings to disintegrate.

It wasn't long until he found the cause of the lack in bodies. A Menos Grande screeched loudly as it maundered its large feet through the rubble, seemingly not enjoying the roughness of broken bricks under its feet. A few other hollows had formed a group around it, looking at the more powerful hollow for protection as they struggled not to get caught under it.

A group of two were further off, playing with a shinigami they had found hiding in a broken down barrack building that he had identified as the belonging to twelfth. They were quite a way from the others and, as the man in shinigami began to squirm and scream in the hollows tight grasp, Toushiro drew Hyorinmaru and pushed himself forward, cutting through the hollows arm with surprising ease.

The shinigami yelped as he hit the ground before turning his startled blue eyes on the white haired captain above him. The hollow screamed, batting at Toushiro, who flash stepped out of the way before cutting its mask in two and watching as it disintegrated. The hollow's partner screamed in fury, charging towards Toushiro with narrowed eyes and an open mouth.

The captain looked at it for a moment before splitting its mask easily in two; such low class hollow as these were really no match for him after battling Arrancar. As the second hollow disintegrated along with the first, Toushiro turned his aqua eyes on the shinigami he had saved before jumping down from the roof to land next to him and extending an arm to help him up. The man gulped, gazing up at Toushiro with wide eyes before grasping the boy's hand and gasping as he was pulled to his feet.

He was a fairly tall man but was rather scrawny, not much muscle filling his obviously thin arms. He had hazel brown hair and a beard, seeming to be one of the older shinigami who hadn't aged well; he looked like a middle aged human but Toushiro suspected he wasn't allot older than Matsumoto.

"Hitsugaya Toushiro?" were the first words the twelfth squad member said and they were said with such an unbelieving tone that Toushiro frowned.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice slightly annoyed as he tried to figure out why the man was staring at him with such an amazed expression. "What happened here?" he decided to ask instead. He could get to his ill mannered reception later. The man looked at him, his eyes narrowing and his expression turning hard.

"Aizen turned traitor. He stole the Hogyoku after Rukia Kuchki was executed, used it to make an army of super hollows called Arrancar and utterly demolished the Seireitei. He then took over the spirit King's dimension and is ruling that while letting the hollows run free down here." he explained, his voice sour as he looked at the white haired captain's unfazed expression.

Despite his expression however Toushiro was starting to panic slightly, his heart beating a million miles an hour as he fought the urge to quicken his breathing and widen his eyes. What an earth could have happened for Aizen to have won, and how come Rukia was executed? Where had Ichigo been to be able to stop it happening?

"But what about Ichigo?" he asked, his voice only wavering the tiniest amount. The soul reaper looked at him in confusion, his blue eyes narrowed.

"Ichigo? Who on earth is Ichigo?"

Toushiro couldn't stop his eyes from widening this time. If the man had no idea who Ichigo was did that mean something had happened to the substitute that had stopped him from saving Rukia? Or was this man just a half wit? He decided to try again.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." He said with only a hint of annoyance. The man just looked at him with suspicious but confused eyes, obviously still not knowing who Ichigo was. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance Toushiro resisted the want to sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down.

He then looked back up at the shinigami he had saved with cold eyes. "So, who's still here? What captain's are alive?"

The man flinched back at his tone and icy cold stare before answering. "Captain Kurotsuchi is alive but I'm not sure about the others. The divisions kind of kept to themselves after everything happened so I don't know if anyone is alive there. Before we all retreated Captains Unohana, Shunsui, Kuchki and Abarai were the only ones still alive." He informed the young captain. Toushiro couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this last piece of information.

"Only them? Wait, did you say Abari? As in _Captain_ Abari?" he asked in confusion. The shinigami nodded, his eyes narrowing into something like hate.

"Well yes. _Someone_ had to take the tenth captaincy when you disappeared." He spat, his tone never sounding more like his captains than then. But Toushiro wasn't listening to the tone so much as what was said, the words ringing loudly in his ears like a church bell.

"I…disappeared? When?" he asked, his voice growing urgent as he finally managed to talk around his stunned state. The shinigami blinked.

"Well you should know; you're the one who disappeared." He scorned, obviously not going for any respect anymore. Toushiro's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"_When_?" he hissed icily, flaring his spiritual pressure as much as he dared with hollows so nearby. The man shrunk back with wide eyes as he looked at a captain several years older and more experienced than he remembered.

"It was about five years before Aizen turned traitor." He answered quietly, not really wanting to give the information but weary enough of the person in front of him not to argue. Toushiro paused, straightening slightly before bringing a finger to his lips in thought. If this man was telling the truth, lord help him if he wasn't, and he _had _disappeared…then was _that_ the cause of this destruction?

But he hadn't vanished; he had been there when Aizen had turned traitor and when the Arrancar had attacked so this guy was either lying or had been hit round the head by too many hollows. He needed to verify this story with someone and the only one he knew would be able to look into Toushiro's own story was Kurotsuchi. That was also the only captain who he would be able to find for sure, presuming this man would cooperate.

"What's your name?" he asked, deciding it was probably a good idea to get on the man's good side, or as far onto it as he could, before asking any favours. The man watched silently as Toushiro slid Hyorinmaru back into its hilt before meeting his eyes sullenly and answering, his tone reserved.

"Fumei Shino."

Toushiro eyed him for a moment before letting out an unconscious sigh. This wasn't worth the effort it was taking to be nice to this guy. But he put up with it; barely.

"Could you take me to Captain Kurotsuchi; you owe me that much." The white haired captain asked, his voice not unkind but filled with an icy layer that was difficult to miss and impossible to ignore. The man opened his mouth to retort before closing it again at the glare he got and nodded.

"He's hiding in one of his old underground laboratories. Follow me and I'll show you." Shino told the captain before turning away, wandering steadily through the rubble and bricks in a way that told Toushiro he had been doing it for some time. After closing his eyes for a moment to keep his growing annoyance at the situation in check he followed the man, trying his best not to stumble over the loose stones beneath his feet.

**oxo…oxo**

**Well, there's chapter one! ^_^ I hope you're all enjoying it so far and decide to review. **

**Dear readers,**

**Not much to say this time either really…its night time while I'm writing this, about quarter to eleven and I'm going to sleep after this. I have to say I'm enjoying writing this story and for once actually have some sort of plan as to where it's going to go which is always good. Oh! I went to see Gulliver's Travels today; it was good. Very funny though I don't think it was as funny as I was perhaps expecting but still well worth watching. I also want to see Tangled when it comes out…as well as Transformers three, Thor and Pirates of the Caribbean four…a nice line up of cinema trips there don't you think?**

**Animeloveramy **


	3. Chapter 2

'_**It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.'  
**_**W. Somerset Maugham**

**oxo…oxo**

As Toushiro followed the man through the wrecked building they were currently navigating his eyes were wandering around, taking in all the dirt and grime that was covering the now bare walls. They looked as if they hadn't been used in a while and he figured that if what Shino had said was true they probably hadn't been. This did little to help his current mental wellbeing but, he surmised, he wasn't doing too bad in that area considering his entire home had been destroyed, his friends killed and himself 'disappeared'.

It wasn't long before the pair came across a small lid on the floor, a flat circle of metal that lifted from the floor like a drain cap. Quickly, and with surprising skill, Shino heaved the metal away and gestured for Toushiro to go down. Eyeing the man wearily, he looked down the hole only to see a large void of nothingness. Frowning slightly at the stench he glanced at the man before, after a sharp nod from the blue eyed shinigami, he jumped into the hole and landed lightly on the concrete ground below him, his feet splashing in the thin layer of cold water that covered the ground.

In the small amount of light coming through the hole Toushiro could see about ten feet around him in each direction. From what he could see of the place he was in the sewage system, a murky looking water channel flowing beside him on one side with a dank wall on the other. Both in front and behind him was just more concrete that looked like it could go on for quite a while in either direction. He wasn't given much time to study it though as Shino shut the cap, sending the sewer into complete darkness as he landed lithely next to Toushiro.

"Flash, Ningen Hikari." The shinigami said, his voice soft as he released his newly unsheathed Zampakuto, causing Toushiro to reflexively flinch away, his hand on Hyorinmaru. But it was unnecessary, he soon found out, as all Shino's Zampakuto did was light up, but it was with such a fierce light that the young captain had to shield his eyes from the glare. Shino waited for Toushiro's eyes to adjust to the light his sword was now giving of before beginning to walk down the passageway, the water under his feet making a small splashing sound as he wandered through it.

Toushiro followed, noting the groggy walls and murky air with a small wrinkle of his nose. This place was rather disgusting and, like the buildings above, seemed to have fallen into disrepair; grey green algae growing wherever it could. Torch brackets clung to the walls by red rusted bolts that barely held the metal to the brick causing there to be, unsurprisingly, no torches in them. This in turn lead the young captain to believe that not many people traversed the lost waterways and that prompted him to ask the shinigami in front of him a question.

"How many squad twelve members are there left?" he asked, causing Shino to turn back and look at the captain with a strange look in his eyes that best suited the description of annoyance.

"Including me and the captain…fifteen." He replied, his eyes narrowing slightly at the look of shock on Toushiro's face that contained no guilt whatsoever.

"Fifteen? That's it?" Toushiro gasped, trying and failing to keep his mouth from gaping open at the news. While he had known there were likely to be limited numbers but this was stupidly less than he had anticipated. The man just looked at him with a hard expression before turning back to face where he was going. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Toushiro followed steadily behind as they walked around corners and down dark alleys with no feeling of ill at all.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for them to arrive at a large hall with bright brown floors and tall, yellowing walls that looked a lot better groomed than the tunnels had been and was actually lit enough that he could see without the help of Ningen Hikari. Sliding his Zampakuto into its sheath at his hip Shino led Toushiro through the large hall, eyeing the other shinigami that watched him from the corners, hiding in the shadows where Toushiro hadn't noticed at first. For some reason this room felt more dangerous than any part of the tunnel or even the destroyed Seireitei, especially when he saw the insane light that sparked in one of the female soul reaper's bright gold eyes and the large, jagged scar that ran from the top of her head to her left eye; cutting off the dark hair that had once grown there and leaving a large part of her head practically bald.

Quickening his pace slightly Toushiro was glad when he made it to the other side of the hall and had entered a tight corridor that was darker than the hall but still light enough to see by. He frowned as he saw Shino with a small smirk on his face, obviously enjoying Toushiro's obvious relief at being out of the room with the scarred girl. But he said nothing, continuing to lead the white haired boy through the small corridors that had seemed to become slightly dank again, a strange smell lingering in the musty air. They passed several turns to both the left and the right, each other corridor looking just as dark and uninviting as the next, before they arrived outside a thick steel door with the twelfth squad insignia imprinted onto it.

Toushiro eyed Shino silently as the older shinigami rapped his knuckles on the door three times before it opened slowly to reveal the petite form of Nemu Kurotsuchi, vice captain of squad twelve. Dull green eyes watched them unblinkingly and she seemed slightly older than Toushiro remembered, her black hair cut choppily and held up by a small length of ribbon she looked a lot less ordered than previously. Her expressions, however, had changed little.

"Vice captain Kurotsuchi. Hitsugaya Toushiro wishes to speak to the captain." Shino explained, spiting out Toushiro's name like it was venom. The vice looked at Toushiro for a moment with vacant eyes before opening her mouth to say something and closing it when she was cut off.

"Hitsugaya Toushiro?" asked a familiar voice, it high pitch and scathing tone undeniable.

Captain Kurotsuchi was sat behind his computer; the machine the only light in the room. as Toushiro walked into the laboratory he allowed his eyes to wander, picking up shadows of various strangely shaped objects in the distance but not seeing enough of them to have any clue as to what they were. Kurotsuchi himself looked no different from how he had at the end of the winter war; his strange blue lions mane slightly dishevelled but easily recognisable. His face was covered in his usual black and white makeup but his gold eyes seemed rather dull, not containing the same glint of madness they used to hold. But as he looked at the white haired captain a small amount of that glint returned to him and a cruel smile twisted on his face.

"Do my eyes deceive me? I never thought I'd see _you _again." He asked, his voice scornful and his eyes narrowed as he watched the emotionless Toushiro with a small amount of curiosity. The white haired captain remained silent, eyeing Kurotsuchi with a small frown on his face as he heard the heavy door swing closed with a large bang that rattled the piles of paper that were scattered carelessly around the room. The captain of squad twelve frowned at Toushiro's lack of response before 'humph'ing in indignation and turning his eyes back to the computer. "So where have you been?" he asked, his voice seeming to hide something that Toushiro couldn't quite catch but it was more than just idle curiosity.

"I never left." Toushiro stated simply, regaining the attention of Kurotsuchi.

"What do you mean you never left?" he asked, his eyes narrowed and his voice taking on an even higher pitch than usual. "Your reitsu disappeared! If you never left I would have been able to find you no matter where in the soul society you were!"

Toushiro's eyes narrowed at the insinuation. "I am not lying Kurotsuchi. As far as I am aware I have been captain of squad ten and helping fight in the winter war. In my memory Aizen is gone." He growled out, that and his furrowed eyebrows being the only sign of emotion on the young captains face. His words were enough to make Kurotsuchi pause before leaning closer to the white haired boy, a curiosity blazing in his eyes.

"But Aizen is the spirit King now, how can he be gone?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Toushiro shook his head slightly before locking eyes with his fellow captain.

"It confuses me as much as you. I came back from the world of the living where everything was fine to find the soul society in destruction. It certainly wasn't like it when I left this morning." He explained, his aqua eyes reflecting his confusion. Kurotsuchi pulled back thoughtfully, not willing to admit he was stumped. Then his eyes widened and he swung himself back round to his computer, the fabric of his haori fluttering at the movement. He then began wrapping his long, grotesque fingers on the keys, his grubby nails hitting them with small chinking sounds that accompanied the tap of keys against keys. Suddenly, he stopped, moving his face closer to the screen in order to read the data flowing down it.

"Ah…there _was_ a blip." He commented softly, his voice triumphant but his words lost on Toushiro.

"A…blip?" the young captain asked in confusion, his eyes narrowed and his voice hesitant. Kurotsuchi looked at him blankly before sighing dramatically and swivelling his chair slowly back to face him.

"Yes. I thought I could remember my computer acting funny near the time of your 'disappearance' but I didn't take any notice of it at the time believing it to be getting used to the new technology I had uploaded the day before. Looking at it now I see it's so much bigger than that, in fact the whole time-space continuum shifted. If you were travelling between worlds when it effected your time you wouldn't have felt its effects, which would explain why you are the only one to remember." He explained impatiently. Toushiro just looked at him before nodding slightly. It made sense enough to him.

"So what caused the shift?" he asked, finally finding himself able to have a decent convocation with the man; much to his surprise. Kurotsuchi blinked before narrowing his eyes in thought.

"I'm not entirely sure. Are there any major differences from your time that could have caused it?" he asked, the weight of his curious gaze fired straight into Toushiro's cold eyes. The young captain paused, thinking back to his first and only convocation he had had with Shino and trying to replay what had been said.

"_Aizen turned traitor. He stole the Hogyoku after Rukia Kuchki was executed, used it to make an army of super hollows called Arrancar and utterly demolished the Seireitei. He then took over the spirit King's dimension and is ruling that while letting the hollows run free down here."_

The only thing different from that was that Rukia was executed and that Aizen managed to 'demolish' the soul society with the Arrancar. But what would cause that? Then his eyes widened in realisation.

"_But what about Ichigo?" Toushiro asked, his voice only wavering the tiniest amount. The soul reaper looked at him in confusion, his blue eyes narrowed._

"_Ichigo? Who on earth is Ichigo?" _

Ichigo. He had been the one to save Rukia, defeat Aizen. But then, if Ichigo hadn't been there then why would Rukia have been up for execution? He decided to ask that question first before mentioning Ichigo.

"What was Rukia Kuchki executed for?" he asked Kurotsuchi, his aqua eyes blazing in thought. The elder captain frowned; unsure as to where Toushiro was going with his idea.

"She was wrongly accused of murdering central 46. We found out later that it had been Aizen." He explained shortly, confusion growing on his face like a wildfire along with a great amount of intense curiosity.

So Aizen had framed her. That would make allot of sense. But that would mean that she never gave Ichigo his powers and he needed to come up with a suitable alternative. The murder of the central 46 would have been perfect. No one could argue the justification of execution for that no matter how much they wanted to; it was treason. So it seemed safe to assume that Ichigo had been the reason behind the shift. But how? And why?

"And what about Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked, causing Kurotsuchi's eyes to narrow further.

"Who?"

Toushiro grimaced. There it was then. If captain Kurotsuchi hadn't heard of Ichigo then the boy hadn't been made a soul reaper. "He was the one who went to save Rukia then ended up being the one to defeat Aizen."

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened slightly at this new revolution, his golden irises twinkling slightly as he thought of the possibilities this day was beginning to show.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader,**

**Ok, so it's…10:50pm as I write this and I am so tired. I have to admit that it's not as late as I expected. I kind of thought it nearer midnight but I'm glad its not; more sleep. That's probably why the ending of this chapter is so bad; I can't be bothered to write anymore and I didn't want it to be over five pages long like it would have been if I had kept it going. Things that are happening…? Not hugely much though I have a lot of deadlines at school. A level is hard and I'm doing the easier subjects! **

**Animeloveramy **


	4. Chapter 3

'_**You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.' **_

**Henry Ford **

**oxo…oxo **

"So you think that something might have happened to Ichigo at some point that year?" Toushiro Hitsugaya asked an eerily happy looking Mayuri Kurotsuchi as he stood like an ice sculpture in the middle of the scientist's underground laboratory. Kurotsuchi moved his glittering golden eyes to meet Toushiro's icy aqua ones, glee evident on his face.

"It would seem that way. This 'Kurosaki Ichigo' encountered something he shouldn't have that changed time and stopped him from ever meeting Rukia. It seems the disturbance has come from somewhere in England." The captain of squad twelve explained greasily, his eyes narrowing and grin widening in the joy of knowing something others did not.

Toushiro had told Kurotsuchi everything about what had happed between the time Ichigo had turned up and now and the whole idea had excited the captain enough to keep the insane grin latched on his face. It seemed it had been a while since the old scientist had had the pleasure of working something like this out and he was obviously revelling in the opportunity.

Toushiro himself though was not so pleased. His being able to have a proper conversation with the man had disappeared as soon as the captain had smelled information and it was beginning to grate on the white haired boy's nerves. This coupled with the toxic smell that had started spreading around the room at the increased movement was giving the poor captain a headache and was not in any way helping his mood.

"And what are we supposed to do about it?" he asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he tried to force his words to be civil. Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow.

"You will have to go back in time." He replied, his eyes sparkling in amusement as Toushiro stared at him sceptically.

"Only me?"

"Yes; only you."

Toushiro scowled. "What makes you so special to cause you think that you can send me?" he asked, his civility slipping slightly as he glared at the man; the entire room becoming two degrees colder. Kurotsuchi's eyebrow's furrowed at the insulting tone.

"Because, young one, only you know how the world should be, so only you can change it back. In future you should like to remember to treat me with more respect; I'm not as selfish as you seem to think me." He replied, his pitch higher than usual in his annoyance and his smile gone. The temperature returned to normal but the scowl of the tenth captain's face did not leave. Then he sighed.

"Fine, but how exactly am I supposed to go back in time?" Toushiro growled through his teeth. The grin came back to Kurotsuchi's face and he let out a short laugh that sent shivers down the young captain's spine.

"I'm glad you asked! I have recently invented a spectacular devise that allows a shinigami to travel through time. In a way it's like the Ōin only it cannot control space making it far less powerful and easier to control." The twelfth squad captain explained; his voice joyful and his eyes twinkling. There was something about the man's explanations that was setting butterflies in Toushiro's stomach. Then Kurotsuchi got out of his chair, his haori flying out around him in the wind created by his movement before walking purposefully into the darkness, his steps balanced but uneasy; as if he hadn't walked in a while.

Toushiro watched him curiously, his nervousness filling the gap where his annoyance had once been. It didn't take long for Kurotsuchi to come back, wandering into view with a small green tray in his gnarled hands and an insane looking grin plastered on his face. This only helped to heighten the young captain's fear.

"Don't look so fearful captain Hitsugaya; it has been tested." Kurotsuchi informed him in amusement, watching his fellow captains wide eyes with a smirk. Toushiro gulped inaudibly.

"On whom exactly?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"Why my subordinates of course; who else?" Kurotsuchi replied, a scathing look on his face that caused Toushiro's eyes to narrow, despite his nerves. "Most of them could go only a few days back in time at most but I am sure that with your level of reitsu you will have no problem going back years."

Toushiro looked slightly sceptical as he watched the head of research pull out a small needle, a syringe and a strange small piece of equipment that looked vaguely like a digital watch; buttons all around the sides and a small black screen in the middle. The young captain watched with reproachful eyes as Kurotsuchi began tapping on his computer again, the tray abandoned to the side as his focus changed to the screen; green text pouring down it.

"Nemu!" he yelled, his face never turning from the screen as he continued to type, seemingly entering some sort of data. The lieutenant appeared by the side of her captain causing Toushiro blinked in surprise, having not noticed her move.

"Yes captain?" she asked in her soft but unemotional voice. Only then did Kurotsuchi stop typing and look at her.

"Set up the Chronoresonate liquid for captain Hitsugaya." He instructed before turning his golden eyes back onto the screen, the whites reflecting green in a way that made the man look even less human than he usually did. Toushiro took as step backward as Nemu began filling the syringe with a strange orange liquid from a medium sealed jug that had been sitting on a shelf underneath the desk.

"What is that?" he asked nervously, eyeing the syringe with more than a small amount of fear. Kurotsuchi's mouth widened into a smirk as he turned back to the tenth captain; eyes glinting green.

"Chronoresonate liquid is a liquid like no other and it forms one half of my devise to control time. When injected inside the body of the person wishing to travel through time it resonates with the watch around their wrist thereby transforming their spirit particles into such that they can travel freely through time and dimension for a period of time that differs depending on the amount of spiritual pressure they possess." The scientist informed his newest test subject, a look of exhilaration etched into his features causing the normally cool tenth captain to shake slightly.

Toushiro took another cautious step backwards as Nemu began to attach the needle to the end of the syringe, her dark green eyes emotionless as she turned from the object in her hand and to the white haired captain with no pity at all. She then set the syringe back onto the tray and disappeared back into the shadows. This caused Toushiro's eyes to widen as he glanced around desperately, unable to trace the lieutenant's reitsu. Then his gaze settled back on Kurotsuchi as he stepped away from his computer and picked up the syringe between his bony fingers.

Keeping his eyes down in a menacing way the twelfth captain tested the needle, squirting a small amount of the orange liquid out of the top before beginning to walk slowly towards Toushiro, his eyes glittering as he finally moved them to meet the tenth captains. For every step Kurotsuchi took forwards, Toushiro took one back until he white haired boy was almost back at the door, his eyes wide and his expression fearful. Kurotsuchi sighed slightly.

"Come on captain Hitsugaya; stop being so selfish and let me inject the needle!" he told the boy, growling the last few words in his growing annoyance. Toushiro just took another step back in response before colliding with a soft yet immovable object he knew wasn't the wall or door. Cursing slightly he tried to turn but he was locked in position by a pair of strong arms that proceeded to wrap themselves around his chest and shove the tenth captain towards the now grinning Kurotsuchi.

"Kurotsuchi!" Toushiro snarled as Nemu guided him towards the needle he was sure meant his doom. The captain of twelve chuckled darkly, not helping to increase the boy's willingness to cooperate. When they were close enough Nemu loosened her grip around his right arm just enough that her captain could pull up Toushiro's sleeve but not enough that he could escape. When the sleeve was rolled up and Toushiro's lean upper arm could be seen the captain of squad twelve's grin widened.

"This wont hurt a bit." He told the now terrified captain of tenth before sticking the needle deep into Toushiro's arm.

The white haired boy yelped in pain at the needle's entry before letting out a harsh yell as Kurotsuchi pushed the end of the syringe, forcing out the orange mass inside and injecting it into Toushiro's blood causing the boy immense agony at the uncaring way he did it. When there was no Chronoresonate left in the tube the head of research pulled the needle out and walked away; leaving Toushiro breathing heavily as he was supported on his feet by Nemu. It didn't take long for Toushiro to recover and Nemu to fade back into the darkness from where she had come. Feeling the weight of the young captains glare and noticing the sides of his computer were beginning to freeze, Kurotsuchi turned to look at him from where he had been tinkering with the small watch; connecting a thin cable between it and the computer.

"What's wrong captain Hitsugaya? I thought you were used to that kind of pain." He sassed easily, his voice sounding innocent in a way that revelled in the opposite. Toushiro's eyes narrowed as his glare hardened into pure hate.

"You said it wouldn't hurt." He replied, his breathing heavy as he struggled to recover from the shock of what had just happened and the relief that it was over. Kurotsuchi shrugged.

"It didn't hurt me."

Toushiro's eyes narrowed still further as he struggled to contain the cold reitsu that came with his anger. Deciding it was probably a good time to move the subject on the captain of squad twelve turned back to his computer before typing something in, his golden eyes trailing on the computer screen as he worked. At a small beep from the watch on the side he undid the cable, picked the devise up and strolled towards the white haired captain, pushing the buttons on it as he walked; the buttons themselves making sharp beeps in protest at his pushing them. Toushiro eyed it wearily but didn't move away, finding the watch a lot less menacing than the strange orange liquid inside the syringe had been.

"And that is?" he asked, his voice cool again and containing little emotion. Kurotsuchi smiled slightly, his smile the friendliest Toushiro had ever seen but his eyes sparkling with a menacing joy.

"This is the second half of my devise. When attached you your wrist it will send out a signal that will activate the Chronoresonate liquid inside you and transport you through both time and dimension. I have set it to take you to the day in the year you disappeared in 1992 and you should be transported close to the place in England that I detected a change." He explained, holding out the small black watch for Toushiro to take. He did so, gripping the rough fabric strap easily between his fingers before studying the watch face carefully. To anyone who didn't know otherwise the watch looked like just that, a watch. But it was a digital watch and Toushiro could see that there were way too many buttons on it for it to be just a watch.

Placing the watch on his wrist Toushiro did up the buckle on the strap with only a small amount of difficulty before moving his wrist about to test the watch's comfortableness. He then looked up at Kurotsuchi who was smirking at him slightly.

"So what now?" Toushiro asked coldly, his voice low.

"Now all you need to do is press the large button on the top. It will start the transportation. When you have finished flip the screen up and press the button underneath. It will bring you back to his time period but will not change your position. For example if you are still in England when you press the back button then you will remain in England but in a different time. But remember that this can only be used once back and once forward; you will not be able to go back to that time if you come back and find you haven't completed your mission so make sure your sure." Kurotsuchi warned, his expression serious for the fist time that day. Toushiro nodded before turning to the watch, running his fingers over the smooth rubber surface as he prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" he asked the twelfth captain, moving his aqua eyes up to meet insane yellow ones. Kurotsuchi shook his head.

"I don't believe so, no." he replied, turning away from Toushiro in a way that said he didn't really care anymore. Toushiro narrowed his eyes slightly before sighing. Moving his finger towards the button he braced himself before pressing it and gasping as a buzzing sensation began to spread through him, starting in his wrist and up his arm before it covered his entire body.

He got one last look at Kurotsuchi who was watching him again with an interested smile as the tenth captain's body started to glow and he was swallowed by the light before his vision became dark.

**oxo…oxo **

**Ok then, that's chapter three. **

**Dear reader,**

**Ok, so this was done at the weekend but will need to be betaed before it can go up. Hopefully it won't take too long. I got a new coat on Saturday, a nice red one that's military style. I've been looking for something like it for ages and finally found it in river island. I had never really thought to look in the men's section before…my sister finally got herself an ipod touch too. She's been saving since two birthdays ago..haha**

**Animeloveramy **

**Dear reader,**

**This has now been beta'd in record time (nothing to do with the way im trying to avoid work-promise) and the beta reader is now killing time by writing you a note on the bottom, as well as seeing how long it will take miss Animelover to notice and to give her plenty of time to think of something nice and evil to write about me at the bottom of her next chapter ^_^ please enjoy and comment, she really does pay attention to comments and I may even give out cookies to the best one J**

**Animeaiedail**

**A/N - in case people want to know I, Animeloveramy has indeed noticed this little comment from my beta author and is not as unobservant as he seems to think. **


	5. Chapter 4

'_**All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.'  
**_**Ralph Waldo Emerson**

"_Hoguwāts__u__…"_

**oxo…oxo**

The first thing Toushiro was aware of was the incessant thudding in his head that was causing a beast of a headache to rear its ugly head and stomp its clawed feet all over the captain's brain. Groaning heavily he stirred; seriously hopping he had landed in a place where there were no people around and that he wasn't being stared at or hooked to strange human machines. He couldn't feel the reiatsu of anyone around him so he figured not, that decision magnified by the feeling of dry earth under his face and hands.

Lifting himself off the dusty ground Toushiro opened his eyes that were, thankfully, devoid of mud. All around him were large trees that rose many feet into the air and shaded the ground of light, only allowing the bare minimum escape the large canopy above. The dark earth beneath him was dry but soft and dusty with no grass growing between the large tree roots. It stuck to the fabric of his cloths along with both his face and hands, causing him to feel slightly uncomfortable as he sat back on his haunches attempting to brush the dust from him.

His right arm ached from where Kurotsuchi had given him the injection of Chronoresonate liquid causing him to frown deeply, cursing his senior mentally as he rose unsteadily to his feet, wobbling slightly before gaining his balance. Toushiro couldn't see anything other than trees and had no idea which way was the best way to go. Sighing slightly he brushed himself down before bending his knees slightly and jumping upwards; landing atop one of the large branches at the top of the nearest oak. What he saw as he poked his head through the leaves made his eyes widen in wonder.

A large medieval looking castle loomed out of the forest, its old, grey brickwork seeming closer than Toushiro could have imagined. It seemed the forest wasn't as large as it seemed though, as he looked around, he noted that it was still pretty big, spanning further sideways than he could see. The castle itself was vast, holding many turrets and towers that all seemed to intertwine in different ways when he looked from different angles. It certainty intrigued him.

Adjusting his position on the branch, Toushiro sprang, jumping from tree to tree in the direction of the castle until he came to the last tree and landed on his feet atop the no grassy ground. The green grass seemed to sparkle slightly in the light of late summer, glowing slightly as he looked at it. The young captain had decided that it was late summer from the temperature; having been to England before he knew that late summer, around August to September, brought a chilled heat that, though still warm, still contained the element of autumn.

Breathing in deeply at the fresh air and enjoying the small nip of cold that danced around his throat, he started flash stepping towards the castle, assuming that whatever had disturbed time to have come from here. As he got closer to the castle he began to sense strong amounts of reiatsu that only grew the closer he got to it but it was a strange reiatsu that was different from anything he had ever felt before. Yet he _knew_ it was reiatsu. Curiosity got the better of him and soon he was flash stepping faster in order to try and work out who the reiatsu was coming from. But then he understood, his eyes widening slightly as he realised that the reiatsu was emanating from the very building itself.

Toushiro stopped; suddenly weary. How was it possible for the structure itself to be emanating reiatsu? Frowning, he eyed the building wearily. This was something he had never seen before and never thought possible. But then, the reiatsu itself was something unusual. Deciding to put his theory to the test he spread out his senses, picking up the spirit ribbons in the air any studying them. There weren't very many ribbons which was a surprise unto itself, yet that wasn't what unnerved Toushiro the most.

The ribbons were blue. One of them, he could tell, belonged to the building and it rippled uneasily in the air beside the others. The ribbons next to it, however, Toushiro wasn't sure about. It wasn't till he held out his hand to touch one of them that he realised they belonged to people inside the building. They all had fairly large amounts of spiritual pressure but there were only a few of them, around sixteen; certainly not enough for a castle that size.

Curious, Toushiro began to flash step again, climbing the grey stone stairs before arriving at the large wooden doors to the castle that rose high above his head. He looked up with furrowed eyebrows before pushing at the door which, to his surprise, opened with a loud groan, heavy but easy to push. And push it he did, opening the door wider before cringing slightly at the noise. Walking inside the first thing he saw when his eyes adjusted were the two large suites of amour that stood either side of the great oak frame. Opposite him was a large, rather grand staircase that lead to the higher floors of the castle and on either side of that were two, smaller staircases that both disappeared down into darkness.

Looking to either side he could see two doors on his right and on his left though one of the doors on his right was small while the one next to it was larger than the other three put together. The floor was made of stone and was the same grey as the stairs outside. Natural light filled the room from both the still open doors behind him and the top of the largest of the three staircases and Toushiro hesitated, unsure how to continue. Before he could decide however, an unfamiliar voice floated down to him, its tone pleasant.

"Good afternoon. And who might you be?"

Toushiro looked up, startled, to see a tall old man with long, silvery hair and a beard to match. Wearing deep blue robes that flowed out around him with startling grace for fabric and high-heeled buckled boots his curious eyes were bright; light blue and twinkling with amusement behind half moon spectacles. The young captain wasn't sure what to think. What had startled him most about the man was that he hadn't sensed his arrival. He probably wouldn't have known the old man was there if he hadn't spoken.

Then there was the matter of answering his question. It wasn't as if he could just blurt out his mission and ask the man to help him out. He had no idea who the man was or what he would do if he knew about Toushiro and what the captain was. No, he would keep any unnecessary information withheld for as long as possible though he hoped he would be able to complete his mission as soon as possible and be back again quickly. So he answered the question with one of his own.

"Where am I?"

The man raised an eyebrow causing Toushiro to narrow his eyes slightly at the way the man was looking at him; he thought him a child.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The man replied shortly before a small smile came to his face. "Now I've answered one of your questions, as it looks like you have many, would you be willing to answer mine?"

Toushiro looked at him, continuing the convocation in English without really thinking about it much. "Toushiro Hitsugaya." He replied, eyeing the man suspiciously.

The old man smiled before nodding softly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Hitsugaya. I'm Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your turn, if you wish to ask me a question."

Then a thought popped into Toushiro's head, something he realised he really should have thought of as soon as he had arrived in the time; find out what time it was with all the specifics such as year and date.

"What's the date?" he asked, his voice cold and unemotional as it usually was when he spoke to a stranger. If Dumbledore was surprised by the question he didn't let it show, his smile only widening as he started to walk slowly but determinedly down the stairs, putting Toushiro on his guard. This man was strange. He contained a powerful amount of reiatsu but it was the strange, almost mutated form of reiatsu that he could still feel coming from the very walls themselves.

"It is August twenty-fifth, nineteen ninety-one." Dumbledore replied, his voice amused and his eyes twinkling. Toushiro stared at him before his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. That stupid scientist had sent him back too early; it was a year before the glitch was supposed to happen. What would he do until then?

As Toushiro simmered silently, the room growing colder until Dumbledore had to wiggle his fingers around to get the feeling back in them. There was something strange about this young boy; he looked like a regular eleven year old but Dumbledore felt that he was so much more than that. A sense of power radiated from the boy, an ageless wisdom that was put into every move he made, every furrow of the brow, every movement of the eyes. It made him weary, and yet, intrigued at the same time.

It was obvious the boy was special, both his aura and the way he moved could tell Dumbledore that. His clothes were odd too and the sword strapped to his back said ample enough to tell that this boy could be dangerous if he wanted to be; he doubted it was there just for show. This urged him to be friendly with the boy, get him on the old man's side. He also realised that he could use this boy, if the boy were to agree. A powerful being disguised as an eleven year old would be a great asset to the old wizard.

The matter of trust was a small one. He found, despite the boys outward appearance and demeanour, that a sense of innocence came from the boy and Dumbledore decided to rely on this instinct. While Toushiro didn't trust him yet, Dumbledore believed there was something in Hogwarts he needed or he wouldn't be here. Whether it was his appearance or not, Dumbledore felt he could not help but trust the boy.

"Might I ask why you are here?" the old wizard asked, watching the boy with curiosity as the young captain released his glare and looked up at him with a stony expression.

Toushiro hesitated, not sure what to tell the man. He didn't know enough about Dumbledore in order to be able to trust him properly yet. But he supposed he did need _someone's_ help if he was going to have to stay a year. He wouldn't tell the man everything but some information he could share.

"I'm here on a mission." He replied simply before continuing as Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in question. "Someone changed time in a way that has destroyed my timeline so I have come fix it. I traced the disturbance to this place but a year from now. I overshot and can't change it." He explained briefly, deciding to keep it as a singular person's doing for now in case the man reacted badly.

Dumbledore nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "So you have no where to go for a year before you have to change time back?"

Toushiro nodded, staying silent. Dumbledore lifted a hand to his lips in thought for a moment before he smiled and turned to walk back up the grand staircase he had just come down.

"It might be best if we speak more in my office, the walls have ears here even without all the students." The old man told Toushiro with a hint of amusement, not looking back to see if the boy was following. If he had judged his character right then there would be no problems, Toushiro's curiosity would get the better of him.

The young captain eyed the back of the old wizard with blatant interest. Pondering on whether or not it was a trap and whether to trust him or not he went for the former, following Dumbledore up the stairs. The man had given him no reason not to trust him so for now he would do so, though it would only be a small kind of trust that would easily be broken with the wrong actions or words. Besides, if anything _did_ happen the young captain was sure he would be able to defeat the man.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers, **

**Yet another chapter has gone by. I hope people are starting to understand what's going to happen…? My week hasn't been hugely different to any other week but I have an art deadline next Friday so I don't know when the next chapter will come out. Hopefully it will be soon but who knows, hu?**

**Animeloveramy **

**In other news for those interested my last little footnote was discovered about five minutes after the chapter was sent back, credit to Amy's observation. I really see what she means now about it being hard to find something to write about but oh well, I'm sure I can come up with something witty and charming for next week… probably… if I try REALLY hard…**

**AnimeAiedail**


	6. Chapter 5

'_**You must be the change you wish to see in the world.'  
**_**Mohandas Gandhi**

**oxo…oxo**

The pair walked through the large corridors of the castle in a fairly comfortable silence for two people who hadn't known each other long. They looked strange together for this time of year, one being a fairly tall old man with long silver hair and a beard long enough to tuck into his belt and the other a short boy with snowy white hair that stuck up out of his head at odd angles that, however scruffy, seemed to fit him in a way people couldn't explain.

They came across no one on their journey to the headmaster's office though Toushiro was startled out of his cold expression when a portrait had asked him if his hair was natural and that, if it was, he was very lucky to have such beautiful natural hair. The comment had surprised the young captain speechless and he was unable to reply, only watching the person in the painting, a middle aged man with long black hair and ruby eyes, as he started waving his hand in front of the boys shocked face with a furrowed brow.

Dumbledore had chuckled at that, his smile widening further as the shinigami shook himself out of his shock and answered the portrait, telling the man that, yes, his hair was indeed natural. The man had proceeded to smile before repeating the fact that he was a lucky boy. Toushiro had nodded slightly in what seemed to be thanks; his outward stoicism back upon his face before Dumbledore motioned that they should continue, saying goodbye to the man in the portrait before continuing up the staircases that Toushiro had found liked to confuse the people walking up them by moving at random intervals.

The young captain was thoroughly confused by the whole place. He was no expert on the world of the living but he was pretty sure that paintings weren't supposed to _move_ let alone speak. But Dumbledore hadn't seemed phased, and Toushiro decided it would be one of the first questions that he asked when they arrived at the office. They had climbed so many sets of stairs on their way up the large staircase that Toushiro couldn't be sure but he believed they were on the 6th floor of the castle when Dumbledore began leading him through long stone hallways, each with several doors set in their walls.

The old man ignored them, rounding another corner before pausing at a large gargoyle that seemed to glare at him in suspicion without even moving. Toushiro found it vaguely unnerving. It was more unnerving, however, when Dumbledore spoke, his voice light and fairly; seeming to be looking forward to the boy's reaction to what he knew would happen next.

"Jelly Babies"

The gargoyle sprang to life, jumping aside to reveal a gap between the walls where a spiralling staircase was now beginning to form, rising up from the floor in a spinning motion that caused Toushiro's eyebrow to rise. When the stairs had stilled he followed Dumbledore up them, assuming it to be the entrance to the man's office. This theory was proved correct as they arrived at the top of the stairs and walked through a large, old looking and sturdy wooden door and into a circular room that contained a desk, a chair and so many other objects that Toushiro had no name for.

But he did not ponder these for long, watching as Dumbledore pulled out a long wooden stick and flicked it in the air above where a comfortable looking chair appeared. The old man then proceeded to round his desk and sit at his own chair before gesturing for Toushiro to sit. After staring at the chair in shock for a moment Toushiro sat, taking Hyorinmaru from his back and propped it up by the back of his chair where he could easily still reach it but it did not hinder his comfort.

"Well then, Mr Hitsugaya, you do have a problem on your hands don't you?" Dumbledore stated more than asked, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. The captain didn't reply, only watching the man with an emotionless expression. Was he trying to rub it in or something? "I believe you have great power despite your looks, correct?" He continued, eyeing the boy in front of him knowingly.

Toushiro shifted slightly in his seat before nodding, that the only reaction he gave to the professor's words. Dumbledore smiled.

"I have a proposition for you that could turn out to be beneficial to both you and me." Dumbledore said, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands. "I will allow you to stay at this school for a year as a student so long as, in return, you offer your protection to the students and one student in particular."

Toushiro tried and failed to hide his curiosity. Why did this man want him to protect the students, and what from? Also there was the question of why_ him_? Surely the man would be able to get someone he had known longer to do it; someone he would trust more? Dumbledore seemed to understand the boy's thoughts as he answered the last question buzzing in his head in one.

"You would be one of the best people to do so, looking young enough to protect the students as a student. I find that the other students are more likely to confide in another student than a teacher. I also have decided to trust you; I pride myself in first impressions and I have to admit that I have found a liking for you."

Toushiro stared at him for a moment before a frown came to his face.

"Ok…but what exactly am I to be protecting them from?" he asked, speaking slowly and for the fist time since they had arrived at Dumbledore's office; he didn't want to get into anything too big that might suck him in for more than just the year he was stuck here for anyway. The old man's smile faded and his face became grim.

"Do you know what magic is, Mr Hitsugaya?" he asked, his voice loosing the amusement it had previously contained. Toushiro's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he knew what magic was, he had heard on of Ichigo's classmates talking about it. He had assumed it like kido but if what the old man in front of him was implying was true Toushiro realised he might have to change that assumption.

"I have heard of it." He replied, his cold, aqua eyes meeting Dumbledore's bright blue ones with a curiosity he couldn't deny.

"Then I assume you have figured out that this school, corresponding with its name, is a school of magic?" he asked again, getting a nod from Toushiro before continuing. "Well there is, as in anything, both a good and a bad side to magic. Around ten years ago, an evil wizard named Voldermort attacked the home of the Potters, killing Lilly and James Potter before trying and failing to kill their son, Harry. Somehow, he was able to escape the killing curse which ended up turning back on it user, 'killing' Voldermort. This year, Harry comes to Hogwarts. It is also the year we have the philosopher's stone in the castle and I know that Voldermort will want to get it."

"You don't believe him dead?" Toushiro asked curiously. Dumbledore shook his head solemnly.

"No, I don't. I think he's very much alive, in a sense at least, and that he will try and steal the stone. The stone you see has the ability to keep a person alive for many years if they drink its elixir meaning that it will be very bad if he gets it."

Toushiro frowned slightly. "So you want me to protect this Harry Potter from Voldermort. Do you want me to protect the stone too?" he asked, his voice laced with cynicism. The old man raised an eyebrow at his tone before nodding slightly.

"Harry Potter, defiantly; the stone, only if you can. The stone itself is fairly well protected but would be grateful if you could keep an eye on it; provided you stay of course."

Toushiro eyed the man for a moment before sighing heavily. How on earth had he managed to get himself into _this_? He was a captain of the thirteen court guard squads, not some babysitter. Kurotsuchi was going to get it big time when he completed his mission and got back. Maybe he would freeze the scientist's lab; that would cause some trouble. Appeased slightly by the malicious thoughts stirring in his mind, Toushiro met the man's eyes, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

"Fine then; what does being a student consist of?" he asked, causing Dumbledore's eyes to sparkle and a smile to come to his face.

"I'm glad you have agreed to help me. I will ask the gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, to take you to Diagon alley to collect your school things; he will tell you all that you need to know then. Oh and, by the way, I will be telling the staff about the fact that you are here to protect Harry though, if you would prefer, I will not divulge your personal reasons for being here." The man promised causing Toushiro to nod in a way that could almost be seen as thankful.

**xxx…xxx**

'Hagrid' was a large man, about twice as tall as an average man and five times as wide, with a long mane of shaggy black hair and a beard that covered most of his face. His hands were as big as dustbin lids and his feet in their boots were like baby dolphins. He had light skin and dark eyes that glinted like black beetles. Needless to say he towered over Toushiro as they walked through Diagon alley.

Though the young captain had been warned it was still a bit daunting to be walking down a street with odd people in odd clothes doing odd things with odd sticks he had recently found were wands. But the strangest thing he had found of the day was the means of transport that had gotten him to this strange place; Floo powder if he remembered correctly.

It hadn't been long after Hagrid had arrived and they had been introduced when Dumbledore had pulled out a pot of strange dust from seemingly no where and had given a pinch to both Hagrid and himself.

"_This is __floo powder" the old man said, his blue eyes glinting. "All you need to do is walk into the fireplace, call out the name of where you want to go and throw the powder onto the grate. It will then transport you to the place you want to go. Hagrid, if you could go first?"_

_The large man nodded, his bush black beard fluffing at the movement. "'course." He grunted before moving over to the fireplace. He had to crouch to fit but when he was in he did as Dumbledore instructed, throwing the powder in the grate with a cry of "Diagon alley" before vanishing in a burst of green fire. Toushiro watched with wide eyes as Dumbledore motioned for him to go through too. _

"_Don't worry, its fine. Just look for Hagrid." The old wizard told him, before practically pushing him into the fireplace. The young captain frowned slightly before, with a slightly nervous tone, he spoke. _

"_Diagon alley?" he said, making his statement a question before throwing down the powder and watching with a small amount of fear as he was consumed by green fire. He closed his eyes at the strange sensation of falling before his feat hit the floor again and he was tumbling over himself before being caught by none other than Rubeus Hagrid. _

"_You made it." He informed the boy before righting him steadily and smiling down at his blackened face. "But you might want to brush yourself off." _

_Toushiro looked at his hands before resisting the urge to groan; every last bit of him was covered in soot including his hair and his haori, both of which he knew would take forever to wash out. Managing to escape to the toilets of this strange pub that didn't look anything like an alley, Toushiro was able to wash his face and hands before brushing as much of the black powder off his hair and haori as he could. When he had salvaged as much as possible, he returned to the bar where Hagrid was sat with a large mug of__something or other, a smaller one settled beside it. _

"_Ah, there you are. That looks better." Hagrid greeted, smiling at Toushiro who tried with all his might to ignore the giant man but to no avail as he thrust the small glass of orange liquid into the white haired boy's hands. _

"_What is it?" Toushiro asked, his voice slightly scathing as he eyed the bright juice in distaste. It reminded him too much of the Chronoresonate liquid to be a drink. _

"_Pumpkin juice__" The man replied gruffly before taking a swig of his own large mug which was filled with a different liquid that Toushiro thought smelled vaguely alcoholic. "Try it, its good." _

_Wrinkling his nose slightly, Toushiro put his lips to the glass before sipping at it warily. As he swallowed, his eyebrows rose and he looked at the contents of the glass in mild surprise; it actually tasted _good_. Taking a large gulp he had to admit, at least to himself, that the cool liquid felt nice as it ran down his throat, soothing his neck in a way even tea couldn't. When they had both finished Hagrid had lead the young captain out into a small alleyway with a couple of dustbins cluttered around._

_Before Toushiro could ask exactly why he had brought them there, Hagrid pulled out a strange pink umbrella before tapping it on the bricks on the wall at the side and stepping back to watch at the wall began to split in two, revealing Diagon alley. _

And that was where he was now. The first place they had been was Gringotts bank where the gamekeeper had taken some money out of the 'Hogwarts vault' and had given it to Toushiro with an explanation as to what each coin was. After finally getting used to the 'muggle' money, as he had heard it called, he now had the challenge of getting _this_. Thankfully he had the excuse of being 'muggle born' ready if anyone should ask.

"Dumbledore gave me a list of stuff you'll need. Here." Hagrid told Toushiro, pulling out a folded piece of paper before handing it to Toushiro who proceeded to open it and read the writing scribbled onto the parchment. As he read he realized, with vague annoyance, that he knew only a fraction of what the items listed on the parchment were.

The gamekeeper lead Toushiro through the majority of the shops with no complaints, helping him buy everything he needed to but, thankfully, not overpowering him so much that Toushiro felt smothered. In fact the giant seemed to be encouraging the captain to be independent which meant that he was left to speak to the strange people in the shops on his own, the only sign of the giant was his presence as he watched the boys workings from behind.

For some strange reason, no one seemed to care hugely about the large sword strapped to his back. The most reaction he had gotten was a few odd looks that placated as soon as Hagrid made it known he was with Toushiro; either by a pat on the back or a word. This, he had to admit, he was thankful for. Soon he had bought everything he needed by an animal and a wand.

"I s'pose we better get you a wand. Ollivander's is the best." Hagrid said loudly before practically frog marching the young boy over to a shop with a sign above it that read 'Ollivanders: makers of fine wands since 382bc'. He only had a small amount of time to examine the outside of the shop however before he was pushed inside. The inside was small and dusty but it gave off a very strong feeling of the same reiatsu that he had felt from Hogwarts; magic he supposed. Toushiro walked slowly towards the counter before taking a step back as an old man popped out from behind a shelf.

"Hello…and what might I be able to do for you?" he asked, eyeing Toushiro with silvery eyes in a way that made him want to shiver. The man's reiatsu was the same as Dumbledore's and just as strong. This, coupled with his intense stare, made for a very intimidating man; but Toushiro wasn't to be intimidated and he made that fact known by staring coldly back at the man who raised an eyebrow before his eyes flicked up and a grin cracked his lips. "Hagrid! How good to see you again so soon."

The large man nodded with a smile. "Same to you Ollivander, though I wasn't expecting to see you again for at least another year." He replied, his voice portraying only a little disappointment but enough to make Toushiro wonder what had happened last time they had met to make the giant not want to see him again for a while. Ollivander narrowed his eyes slightly before turning back to the white haired boy beside him.

"So, _who_ are you? Its not often I don't know who a person is, even when they aren't as famous as Harry Potter."

Toushiro looked back up at the man in interest. "Toushiro Hitsugaya." He told the man who cocked his head slightly before smiling.

"A foreigner hu?"

Toushiro nodded slightly, his eyes narrowing at the insinuation.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Hitsugaya. I assume you are here for a wand?" Ollivander asked, moving back towards the shelves of boxes that went right up to the ceiling.

"You assume correct." Toushiro replied, watching as the man took what seemed to be a random box from the shelf before opening it as he wandered smoothly back to where he and Hagrid stood.

"Try this one. Oak and phoenix feather. 12 3/4 inches. A bit temperamental." He instructed, offering the box to Toushiro. When the young captain looked at its contents he wasn't surprised to see a wand resting on a padded cushion inside. He picked the wand up before holding his delicately between his fingers, twisting it around slightly to get the feel of holding a wand; compared to Hyorinmaru the piece of wood felt very fragile in his hands.

"Give it a wave." Ollivander told the boy with slightly furrowed eyes before snatching the wand from him as Toushiro waved it and the window shattered. "No, not the one for you it seems…" he muttered, ignoring Toushiro's hasty apologies as he set about finding another box. After several more tries that resulted in books being thrown around the room, boxes falling from their shelves and clattering to the floor along with Hagrid as he rushed to save them, Ollivander pulled out a box that was slightly different.

The box was ice blue with white swirls covering the lid and, when the old man opened it to present the wand inside to Toushiro, a chill that had nothing to do with the young captain filled the room. Hagrid shivered as Toushiro took the wand, feeling a strange buzzing in his fingertips as it began to snow inside the shop. Ollivander nodded, his face bearing a small smile.

"Ah yes; Maple with a core of the first snowfall of the year. 10 1/2 inches, an odd wand that hasn't worked for anyone but you; I thought it was a dud for a long time until someone managed to get it to break a glass." Ollivander explained shortly before walking back to his desk and completing the deal. As Toushiro walked out of the shop with his new wand secure in his kosode, he resisted the urge to shiver. That man was creepy even by _his_ standards.

"Well, then. That everything; unless you want a pet?" Hagrid asked, not waiting for an answer before walking down the road to what looked like a pet shop, dragging Toushiro behind him. _This could be a long year_, Toushiro thought as he struggled once again not to rebuke the large man for being insubordinate, settling for rolling his eyes as he unwillingly entered the shop.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers, **

**I hope you are all well after this lengthy interval between updates and I hope you appreciate the fact that it's at least twice as long as all the others. I've been doing art practically nonstop since I last updated so I'm glad I managed to finish this, finally. I hoped you like it and please review! ^_^**

**Animeloveramy**

**Officially Amy's longest ever chapter (I think…) so well done there ^_^ particularly with the Art work (which looks brilliant btw if anyone was wondering). So Beta'd and waiting for the next installment… I wonder what Hagrid might get up to let loose in a magical pet shop…**

**AnimeAiedail**


	7. Chapter 6

_**"You are slow, even when falling" **_

**Byakuya Kuchki**

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro blinked; then cursed himself for losing a staring competition with a squashed faced, ginger cat.

The Magical Menagerie was a fairly large shop, considering how small it looked from the outside, and was filled with animals ranging from small kittens to large snakes, but there was nothing that Toushiro found he hugely wanted. He had never really been a huge fan of animals, any kind of animals; they reminded him a bit too much of hollows. But he figured some might have a use. Hagrid had said something about owls carrying messages to other people anywhere in the world and, thinking it would be useful, he had decided it could be a good idea to get one. It would be an easy way to send private messages to Dumbledore without too much suspicion.

But, to his annoyance, there were no owls in the accursed shop and when he had turned back to Hagrid to tell the man he wasn't interested in anything but, he found him chatting to the lady behind the counter; seemingly deep in conversation about how to get a Manticore and a Fire crab to reproduce, creating something called a 'blast ended skrewt'. This had been what had led him to amusing himself by having a staring competition with a cat.

Having lost, he turned his eyes to the pair at the counter, smirking slightly at the uncertain and almost frightened look on the girl's face. Trying with all his might to block out Hagrid's words, he wondered vaguely if he should save the lady. His decision was made as the women started glancing at him with a look that clearly said 'help' before glancing back at Hagrid with a forced smile. Narrowing his eyes the young captain spoke.

"Hagrid? I think I would like an owl."

The gamekeeper looked at him, cutting off his 'conversation' before nodding and apologising to the woman. He then led him out of the shop and down the street to where 'Eeylops Owl Emporium' was situated.

"Sorry about that Toushiro; you should have told me ya wanted an owl." He grumbled and Toushiro wondered if he hurt the giant's feelings by interrupting him. He couldn't say he hugely cared either way but if it meant Hagrid was going to sulk for the entirety of the rest of the trip then he wasn't sure he could stand it.

"I didn't want to interrupt you but it seems I did anyway…" Toushiro replied, his voice kind of bored but had an underline of guilt he had forced into his tone in order to try and get back on good terms. It seemed to work as the man's eyes crinkled into a smile and he grunted "'s all righ'" before continuing to lead the young captain back towards the leaky cauldron. Stopping a few doors away from the stone arch Hagrid lead him into a shop that was quite obviously exclusively for owls.

"Eeylop's owl emporium." Hagrid recited as he walked through the door of the shop filled with owls of all shapes and sizes. "'as every kind o' owl you want."

Toushiro looked around, taking in the masses of different shaped and sized birds that sat fluttering around the walls, resting on perches and watching him with large, intelligent eyes as he began to wander around the shop. There were few birds that caught his eye but most of the ones that did were small and or sleek; ranging from little owls to snowy owls. One in particular, a barn owl, was watching him unblinkingly; a curious glint in its dark eyes.

The shinigami stared at the bird for a moment before nodding at it slightly. To his surprise the owl nodded back; discrete, though if someone had been looking for it there was no way they would have missed it. A slight smile came to his face before it fluttered away and he turned to Hagrid.

"Have you chosen?" he asked, reading Toushiro's expression as the boy looked at him. The young captain nodded with a smirk.

"Yes; I would like the barn owl at the top please." He stated, turning his eyes to the man behind the counter. He nodded with a wide smile before extending his arm out and clicking his tongue slightly to get the birds attention. The owl screeched softly before stretching out his wings and gliding gracefully onto the man's outstretched arm.

"Here; she comes with a cage too." He said before guiding the bird into a large metal cage which she hopped into; grumbling slightly as he fastened it and placed it on the desk and named the price. Toushiro placed a couple of galleons and a few knuts on the table before grabbing the top of the cage, nodding to the man and leading the way out of the shop.

"Is that everything?" he asked Hagrid, who nodded, before sighing inaudibly and beginning to walk back to the arch. It didn't take long for the gamekeeper to catch up with him.

"So, what're gunna call 'er?"

Toushiro looked up at him in surprise before letting his eyes rest on the bird that sat in the cage he held. He hadn't really thought of calling his owl anything; he hadn't known people did. But he supposed it was probably like naming a pet only this pet could deliver messages for you. Taking his eyes from his new owl, he navigated himself around the other people; annoyed yet grateful when Hagrid moved in front of him and used his huge body to cut through the crowd.

"Akira." He murmured, causing Hagrid to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"Pardon?"

"That's what I'm going to call her; Akira." Toushiro explained before turning his eyes back on the owl and scratching her behind on the head with his free hand and following the giant back through the archway and into The Leaky Cauldron.

**xxx…xxx**

Toushiro stayed in The Leaky Cauldron until the day of September 1st. Hagrid had left the same day he had shown the young captain around Diagon alley and, just as he left, he had given Toushiro a train ticket and told him to go to Kings Cross Station on the 1st September. During the time in between this the young captain had managed to find said train station and had proceeded to buy himself some 'muggle' clothes with money he had exchanged in Gringotts.

Thanks to a special Gigai that Kisuke Urahara had created just before everything had changed Toushiro was able to become visible to people with lower spiritual pressure such as the muggles. It looked like a gikongan only that, instead of freeing the soul from the gigai, when the pill was eaten the gigai would form around the soul; acting as a normal Gigai until it was no longer needed and would disintegrate. This made it a lot easier to roam the streets of London without the fear of not being able to defend himself if attacked by hollows and that he could then be seen by the humans. He had also decided to keep it on at Hogwarts too, so that he could keep Hyorinmaru with him for whenever he might need it.

As Toushiro walked across platform four, pushing the trolley containing all his school stuff in front of him, he pondered exactly what the ticket meant by platform nine and three quarters. In his somewhat limited knowledge of human train stations he believed that they were numbered with whole numbers rather than in halves or quarters. And sure enough, when he reached platform nine the only platform beyond it was platform ten. Sighing slightly he cursed the wizarding world in his mind; centralising of a certain man with a long white beard.

His cursing was cut short as a large, ginger haired group passed by him; most pushing trolleys just like his. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he felt their reiatsu. It was the deformed reiatsu that was the same for any magical person and, figuring they knew what they were doing, he followed them.

He stopped as they stopped, noticing the keen eyes of a black haired boy with broken glasses pushing a trolley that contained a large snowy owl also watching the large redheaded group. It was a wonder they hadn't caught more attention really, with all the noise they were making.

"All right, Percy, you go first." The lady said, her flame hair being buffeted slightly by the wind and her bright brown eyes glowing as she watched what seemed to be the eldest of the boys move forwards. The boy then began to march towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten and, before Toushiro could register what happened, he had disappeared.

Frowning, the young captain continued to watch as two other boys, seemingly named Fred and George, also disappeared into the barrier. Toushiro blinked slightly after the third boy had gone through. It had looked like he had just walked through it but no one could walk through walls; it just wasn't possible. But that seemed to be what had been done. He wondered if there was some knack to it and had resigned himself to watching the next boy go through more carefully when the black haired boy interrupted them.

"Excuse me." He asked the woman, obviously trying and failing to hide his nerves. The woman looked at him with a smile.

"Hullo, dear. First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new too." She stated, pointing to the boy who had been about to go through the barrier. If he was the height of a first year then Toushiro figured his year would be hell. Being called short around eleven year olds would be torture.

"Yes. The thing is – the thing is, I don't know how to-" the black haired boy continued, his eyes flickering from the woman to the barrier and back nervously.

"How to get on the platform?" she finished for him in a kindly voice before smiling slightly as he nodded. "No need to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go before Ron."

So that was the trick? You just needed to walk or run at it and not be afraid of it. Seemed simple enough and looked it too as the young boy with black hair and glasses ran through; seemingly bracing himself as he got to the wall but still passing smoothly through it.

_A young boy with black hair and glasses. _

The description sounded familiar to Toushiro and he frowned when he realised it was part of the description of Harry Potter that Dumbledore had given him. He hadn't seen the scar but, due to the fact that he was on his own and didn't know how to get on to the platform he surmised that it was indeed Harry Potter he had seen and decided that, when he got onto the blasted platform, he would try and find the boy.

Watching as the boy, lady and girl walked through, he lined himself up with the barrier and took a steadying breath. There was absolutely no way he was going to be running through this station; not when people could see him. He still had some dignity left. So, steadily and with much determination, he began to walk towards the barrier, struggling to imagine the barrier as a wizard's Senkaimon that would take him to some strange wizarding place like the archway to Diagon alley did.

A scarlet steam train was what met him on the other side of the wall, puffing out steam like there was no tomorrow. Crowds of people packed the small station and a sign overhead read;

'_Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock' _

Suppressing a small smirk, Toushiro made his way through the masses of people, hearing snippets of the weirdest conversations he had ever heard; including some of the ones he had shared with both Matsumoto and Kurotsuchi. He was continuing to search the train for the boy he was to protect when he heard the voices of the two twins from earlier; Fred and George if he remembered correctly.

"You know that black-haired boy was near us at the train station? Know who he is?" they were asking, eyes alive as they watched their mothers face wrinkle into a frown.

"Who?"

"_Harry Potter!_" they replied joyfully, glancing over at one of the carriages before focusing on his sister as she started pleading to see 'the boy who lived'. Following his glance, Toushiro spotted the black haired boy poking his head round the window, his eyes on the red heads; obviously listening to the conversation still going on next to him. Sighing slightly, the shinigami moved towards the train and over to where the boy sat, his green eyes watching the family of wizards. Seeing no others in the compartment, Toushiro thought he might as well start his assignment now and try to make friends with the boy.

Heaving his trunk up the stairs of the train door and pausing to grab the owl cage, he pulled the chest down the corridor before arriving at Potter's compartment and rapping on the window with his knuckles. The boy looked around sharply and stared as Toushiro opened the sliding door. Aqua met green.

"Can I join you, the other compartments are full?"

The boy nodded and Toushiro picked the trunk back up before dragging it into the room. He first placed Akira beside the boy's snowy owl before lifting his own trunk easily onto the overhead storage beside Potter's. Then he settled himself down on the seat across from him and looked out the window.

"I'm Harry. Who are you?" the boy asked, regaining the pressure of Toushiro's cold eyes as they stared stoically at him.

"Toushiro Hitsugaya."

Harry nodded before smiling slightly at the boy. "It's nice to meet you."

Toushiro nodded back before letting his eyes wander to the window again, finding the family as the lady and the little girl were waving. The other boys had vanished and, at the pull he got in his stomach that signalled the train beginning to move, he supposed they mush have been on board. He and Harry sat in silence as they watched the young girl try to keep up with the train, tears in her eyes as she waved goodbye to her brothers until she was out of sight. Then the door slid open causing them both to turn their heads as the youngest red head looked in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat next to Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

Toushiro eyed the boy as Harry shook his head and gestured to the seat.

"No, you can sit there." He replied, smiling at the boy before helping him put his chest on the overhead storage when he struggled.

"Cheers." He replied before sitting down, his nervous eyes flickering from Harry to Toushiro.

"Hey, Ron." The twins were back, the grins still on their faces as they looked down at the three people in the compartment. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right." Ron mumbled, seemingly uncomfortable with his brothers being there. Toushiro wondered if it had anything to do with a certain famous boy sitting next to him. 

"Harry." said the other twin. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother."

"Who's your friend?" they asked together, eyeing Toushiro in curiosity.

"Toushiro Hitsugaya." The young captain replied, an icy tint to his tone that caused the twins eyebrows to furrow. "Nice to meet you." He added in an attempt to ease their new suspicion of him. He wasn't sure if it worked.

"Yeah…" One of them replied, his voice cautious before the grins were back on their faces and they were leaving. "See you later then."

"Bye." Harry and Ron replied, watching as the twins slid the compartment door shut behind them

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out, cutting through the tension like a knife and returning it to normal as if a bubble had burst. Harry nodded, a small smile on his face at the rushed way it was said. Toushiro looked back of the window, watching as the green countryside rushed past. "Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes." said Ron. "And have you really got, you know..." He pointed at Harry's forehead, his finger shaking slightly as Harry moved his fringe to reveal the lighting shaped scar.

Toushiro blocked the rest of their conversation out, not really wanting to hear things he had heard about before. His mind wandered, arriving back in the soul society before it had been destroyed. At least he wouldn't have to do any paperwork for a year he supposed, and he wouldn't have to put up with Matsumoto. But he knew he would miss her, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it. He was brought out of his revere by a curious sounding Ron addressing him by his first name.

"Hey, Toushiro?" he was asking, and it took allot of his willpower not to correct him to 'Captain Hitsugaya'. Getting the soul society out of his system, he turned to look at the nervous red head.

"Yes?" he asked, letting a little of his usual coolness out his voice in order to seem inviting. It ended up sounding weary but that seemed good enough for Ron.

"So, where you from? Your name doesn't sound English." He asked, smiling slightly at the stoic expression of the shinigami. Toushiro sighed inaudibly before moving his body to face the boy; he knew enough of human custom to realise it would have been rude not to; it would have been rude in the soul society too.

"Japan. I moved to England when I was seven." He lied, making up his story on the spot and realising it needed to be good or a, it wouldn't be believed and b, it needed to be kept and would rotate around the school. He didn't want to be suspected and he didn't want to have a past that made a fool out of him. Harry smiled at him.

"Are you here with your parents then?" he asked, causing Toushiro's calculating eyes to turn on him.

"Yeah." He replied, deciding it would be easier like this and that it could explain his messaging with Dumbledore. As soon as he could he would message the headmaster to tell him his plan.

"Are they nice?" Harry asked with a hit of sadness. Toushiro frowned at him before shrugging.

"I suppose."

Harry grinned.

"Are they both wizards?" Ron asked, causing the young captain's head to swing back to where he sat.

"No, I'm a muggle bourn." He replied. He didn't know much about the wizarding world so he wasn't going to pretend he did.

Around half past twelve there was a clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry leapt to his feet but Ron's ears went pink and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor, followed absently by Toushiro who was rummaging around in his pockets for the left over money he had. He stopped in his tracks when he saw what was on the trolley; sweets. Bettie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands, and a number of other strange things he had never seen before.

As Harry helped himself Toushiro eyed the sweets with distain before wrinkling his nose and asking the lady if she had any pumpkin juice. She did so and the captain went back to his seat marginally happier than he would have done without it. Harry came back with his arms filled with all kinds of sweets which he absently poured onto the seat between him and Ron.

"Hungry are you?" Ron asked, his eyebrow raised in disbelief at the sheer amount of stuff he had bought.

"Very."

Toushiro sipped his juice quietly as the boys began to chow down on the masses of sweets on the seat.

"Do you want any Toushiro?" Harry offered, looking at the boy as he picked up a box with the writing 'chocolate frog' on the top. Toushiro shook his head before swallowing his mouthful of pumpkin juice and taking a breath to speak.

"No thanks." He replied, grateful to actually be able to reject the sweets rather than just stand there as his fellow captain shoved the giant masses of them into his arms. "I don't really like sweets."

Harry smiled slightly before nodding and directing his attention back to the box in his hand. Sitting back against the soft surface of the seat, Toushiro began to relax. He was going to be with these people for an entire year so he supposed he might as well get used to them. After all, it could well be more tolerable that way he thought, a slight smile coming to his face as he went back to watching out the window.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Right. Done. Finished. I kind of struggled with this chapter for a bit but then it started to flow. I hope I haven't made it too much like the original eg. the original words and stuff; I got them out of the book itself. Oh, some news for you! I went to see Tangled last Sunday and it was actually awesome. I mean so much more awesome than I thought it would be. So thank you for reading a please, it would be very much appreciated, review!**

**Animeloveramy **

**Tangled is indeed awesome ****J**

**AnimeAiedail**


	8. Chapter 7

'_**Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise.'  
**_**Paul Engle**

**oxo…oxo**

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?"

The boy who was standing in the doorway to the compartment had dark hair and a round face. His eyebrows were contorted with worry as he twisted his hands together nervously, obviously a shy by who wasn't too good in the company of strangers. His eyes seemed desperate as he took in the three other boys in the compartment, wide and blinking as he seemed to clutch hold of a hope that was soon to be obliterated by one of those said boys. Toushiro thought it was pitiful but he couldn't help feeling for the boy in the doorway as they shook their heads and he began to wail that he had lost the pet he was searching for.

"He'll turn up." Harry assured him, smiling slightly as the boy sniffed.

"Yes." He replied miserably. "Well, if you see him…" he finished before turning to leave, seemingly going to the next compartment down to ask the same question to the students in there.

"Don't know why he's so bothered." Ron piped up. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers so I can't talk." He gestured to the rat that was still snoozing on his lap, drawing the attention of both Harry and Toushiro towards the small bundle of sleeping fur. "He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference."

Toushiro snorted slightly, causing the other two boys to look up at him in surprise. The shinigami looked away with a small smirk on his face. The rat kind of reminded him of Matsumoto and yet what Ron had just said was the total opposite; when _she_ was asleep the snores would drive him crazy. Harry and Ron shared a glance before Ron continued, realising they weren't going to get an explanation for his show of mirth.

"Anyway…I tried to turn him yellow yesterday in order to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

Toushiro hadn't paid much attention after that, tuning in and out when a girl with bushy brown hair came in, also looking for a toad, and when three boys came in. that had started off being vaguely interesting until it turned out the boys were no more than cowardly bullies. The leader, one Draco Malfoy, had owned light blonde hair he had dared to compare to his own starling white. Apparently, he was trying to be flattering when he said that the young captain's hair was almost as blonde as his own but it had only aggravated the white haired boy. It hadn't shown of course but the temperature had dropped several degrees and he had narrowed his eyes.

The boy tried to match Toushiro's glare but without much luck and, as his eyes started to become fearful, the shinigami looked away, showing himself as indifferent. This succeeded in pissing him off and he showed it as he turned on Harry, making insults about the boy's deceased family. Harry and Ron stood, anger on their faces.

"Oh, you're going to fight us are you?" Malfoy asked, his voice scathing as he eyed the two boys in front of him.

"Unless you get out now." Harry replied with an empty confidence. Malfoy let out a short laugh.

"And what are you and short stuff here going to do about it if we decide we want to stay hu?"

Toushiro's eyes narrowed still further and the temperature dropped below naught, beginning to freeze the glass in the window. Ron shivered slightly and Malfoy's eyes widened, causing a small smirk to come to Toushiro's face as he turned his head back to where the others were standing and got to his feet beside Harry and Ron.

"Would you like to stay and find out?" he asked coldly, causing the boys to shiver slightly at the hard anger in his voice. Malfoy stumbled, not being able to think of an answer, before he turned and blustered huffily from the compartment, obviously not liking the fact that he was retreating.

"…tell my father about this…" was a fraction of what Toushiro caught the boy saying as he stormed out and the temperature rose back to normal. Then the young captain turned to sit back in his seat, ignoring the astonished looks from the other boys in the compartment. Soon it became impossible however and he glared up at them in annoyance.

"What?" he snapped, causing the still standing boys to jump slightly and sit down.

"Sorry." Ron apologised, turning his eyes back on Toushiro as the young captain continued to glare. "I just wondered what it was he said to get you so annoyed."

Toushiro looked at him, his eyes narrowing as he remembered what it was the blonde boy had said.

"I don't like being called short." He said simply, leaving no room for discussion as he turned away from the pair who, wisely, left the subject alone from then on.

**xxx…xxx**

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there Harry, Toushiro?" Hagrid asked over the heads of the many people now swarming the platform. They had arrived not moments ago and the three of them were now making their way through the boisterous crowed of people allot taller than any of them. "C'mon, follow me. Any more firs'-years! Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

Harry looked at Toushiro curiously. "You know each other?" he asked, both confusion and curiosity talking over his facial features. Toushiro shrugged, quickly trying to come up with an excuse.

"My parents are out of the country at the moment so they asked Dumbledore if one of the teachers could take me to get my things instead and it turned out to be Hagrid." He made up, holding back a wince at how childish his words sounded. Harry nodded slowly while Ron just followed the giant, gazing up at him in awe.

No one spoke much after that, walking down the narrow path that seemed to have thick trees growing on either side. It was so dark though that Toushiro couldn't tell and, as he continued to walk, he could hear the round faced boy sniff.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec." Hagrid called over his shoulder. "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!" from the rest of the first years as the narrow path opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Having seen the castle before it was nothing new to Toushiro though he had to admit to himself that it was a stunning sight in the dark with all the windows lit like they were. With all the reiatsu around him he now understood why the castle was so big.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little wooden boats sitting in the water by the shore. Toushiro followed Harry and Ron into their boat before he was accompanied by the round faced boy who glanced over at the shinigami before turning his head forwards again. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself due to his massive size and probably weight too. "Right then - FORWARD!"

The fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, the surface smooth as glass where the ripples didn't touch. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead as it towered over them; sailing nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. The boats stopped as they reached a kind of underground harbour, clanking loudly against the stone side before they began to disembark.

"Oi, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked, checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried the round faced boy blissfully, holding out his hands to collect the toad before turning to look at Toushiro with a happy smile, his eyes saying 'look, I found him!'. Toushiro couldn't suppress a small smile as they began to clamber up a passageway in the rock, following Hagrid's lamp and coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

Toushiro raised his eyebrows slightly at the sight of the massive door, realising immediately that it was the one he had entered before, though he had arrived at it in a different way. Harry and Ron were behind him while the round faced boy stood next to him. Hermione Granger was whispering quietly to someone behind him but he tuned her out, preferring to pay attention to what Hagrid was doing.

The man's loud knock shut her up soon enough and, after knocking three times he waited, standing back as the door opened to reveal a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes. She had a very stern face and Toushiro decided she was not someone he wanted to cross no matter how far up in the Gotei Thirteen he was.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid informed, swinging his oversized arm back to gesture at the crowed of soon to be students. The woman eyed them sternly before turning back to the giant.

"Thank you, Hagrid; I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide to reveal the entrance hall that Toushiro had first met Dumbledore. Unlike before the stone walls were lit with flaming torches instead of the natural light he remembered but other than that it looked practically the same. The professor led them across the stone floor and into a side chamber where they all stood nervously. The round faced boy seemed to have adopted him, standing close to the white haired boy and shivering slightly with nerves.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." the woman greeted. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose before she turned to exit, leaving one final piece of instruction before she left.

The room burst into loud whispers, everyone nervously beginning to chat about the sorting and what it would mean. This wasn't the first thing Toushiro had heard about the houses, Harry and Ron had been talking about it on the train, but he hadn't really paid attention to what had been said but now he realised he probably should have. He needed to be in the same house as Harry and he wondered how that would happen. Would Dumbledore do something to ensure that he was or would he himself have to do something? That was going to be hard however as he had no idea _how_ they were sorted into the houses let alone how to get sorted into each different one or even which house Harry would be sorted into. In summery; this could be complicated. Toushiro fell out of his thoughts as the round faced boy, he _really_ needed to learn his name, tugged gently on his sleeve.

"Hey, how do you think there going to sort us?"

Toushiro shrugged slightly before turning around as several people behind him screamed. 

"What the!" He heard Harry gasp along with the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying,

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost…I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had noticed them and was staring down at them with curiosity in his eyes.

Nobody answered. 

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely but Toushiro was too stunned to do anything but watch as he broke into a montage about the houses. The ghosts had just come through the wall which they shouldn't have been able to do. He wasn't surprised that they could all be seen by the first years, he had known for a while that any wizard could see him, but this new revelation of walking through walls startled him. He was pulled out of his revere by a sharp voice that turned out to be the professor returning.

"Move along now." She called. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall, seemingly heading to the great hall and Toushiro had to be glad that none of them had been able to sense him; that could have caused some major complications.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told them "and follow me." Feeling childish and not enjoying it much, Toushiro got into line behind Ron with the round faced boy behind him and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets and at the top of the hall was another long table that was set out horizontal rather than the vertical of the other four where the teachers were sitting. McGonagall led the first years up to it so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students with the teachers behind them.

The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver and Toushiro had to keep his spiritual pressure reigned in extra tightly for fear of being caught. Seeing Harry look upward, Toushiro followed his gaze, taking in the velvety black ceiling that was dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

Toushiro remembered that passage too, he had read all of the text books out of boredom, and he watched the ceiling just a little longer before turning back to the crowded hall as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat that was patched, frayed and extremely dirty. Toushiro wrinkled his nose slightly before his eyes widened as it began to sing in an old and slightly strained voice that still echoed around the hall, silencing everyone. From what the hat was saying, Toushiro could surmise that all they had to do was put the hat on to be sorted. No big deal; right?

It also told him a bit more about the houses themselves; giving characteristics for each one as his song went on. When it had finished the hall burst into applause and the first years around him visibly relaxed. Ron laughed before murmuring something to Harry that he couldn't catch. It was then that professor McGonagall stepped forwards, scroll in hand as she eyed the people in the line coolly.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said before calling out the first name. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. After a moments pause the hat cried;

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And the table on the right cheered, welcoming the happy looking girl with open arms. It continued that way and soon enough Toushiro was called, strangely amused that he was finally being called by his name in the correct order. Walking up to the stool he sat, almost growling in frustration as the hat slid over his eyes. It was so humiliating and not even the thought that it had happened to all the others had made him feel better about it; if anything he would say it made him feel worse.

"_Brooding are we?" _ Asked a voice inside his head, causing him to tense slightly as he worked to find its source. Feeling the reassuring stir of Hyorinmaru at the back of his mind he relaxed slightly before allowing his eyes to narrow slightly.

_Who are you? _He asked coolly, not really appreciating the new presence in his head. The voice laughed slightly in dry amusement before answering.

"_I'm the sorting hat. I have to say, I've sorted many people in my long life but you have to be the most interesting. Not only do you have another consciousness in your mind your not even alive are you?"_

Toushiro remained silent. He wasn't sure if he could trust this hat but, as it was going to be the one to sort him he supposed he had better act nice at least.

"_You don't have to trust me, but I'm only here to sort you and I have a policy not to divulge any personal information _on_ anyone_ to_ anyone." _the hat assured, regaining Toushiro's attention. _"Besides, it seems as though you came here with a mission and with Dumbledore's permission. You may not have told him everything about yourself but he trusts you well enough."_

The captain felt himself nodding slightly. _Do you think you could place me in the appropriate house for my mission?_ He asked. The hat seemed to stir slightly and Toushiro imagined that, if it had been a person, it would have been looking at him curiously.

"_You mean the house Harry Potter would be likely to join?" _

_Yes. _

"_Alright, I'll do my very best but sorting someone before looking into their minds is a tricky task and I can't just put the boy in the same house I put you in. If he were to be unhappy for the rest of his years here then it could turn out to be disastrous."_

Toushiro nodded slightly before hearing the hat speak again, louder this time and to the hall.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it cried, and the hat was taken from his head, the presence vanishing as he moved over to the Gryffindor table where he sat down to watch the rest of the sorting, sitting as far away from anyone else that was polite. He watched as more of the first years were sorted with little interest before he spotted the round faced boy stumble on his way to the stool. What had been his name when he had been called?

_Lung…no, Long-Longbottom, yes…Norbert? No…Neal? Kami, what was it?_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Toushiro cursed slightly as the boy leapt of the chair, forgetting to take the hat off had to race back to return it for the next student to be sorted. He then took the seat next to the shinigami, if face flushed bright red from the embarrassment of being laughed at by the whole school. 'Longbottom' looked at him for a moment before smiling slightly. Toushiro nodded back, encouraging the boy to talk to him without meaning to.

"Your name's Tounshiro Hitsuguya right?" he asked, slightly mispronouncing his name. Toushiro tried not to let it bother him as he nodded slightly but then decided it was better to correct the boy now then to try later when he had had enough of it.

"It's actually pronounced Toushiro Hitsugaya." The young captain corrected in a weary tone. The boy's smile fell slightly at his tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologised quietly, causing the shinigami to raise an eyebrow.

"Your name's Longbottom yes?"

The boy nodded slightly and the smile was back, grateful he wasn't in trouble about the name thing. "Yes, Neville Longbottom." He filled in and Toushiro found himself grateful there was no need to ask anymore.

"Potter, Harry."

The words cut through their conversation like a knife and they both looked up to see the raven haired boy walk up to the stool, the whole room seemingly holding its breath. The boy took a while on the stool but eventually the hat let out a loud "GRYFFINDOR!" and the boy, now grinning, leapt over to sit almost opposite him where, to the white haired boys surprise, he shook hands with a ghost with ruffles that had turned up sometime between Neville's sorting and Harry's. The fact that he hadn't sensed the ghost's presence unnerved him somewhat.

"He almost took as long as you did." Neville informed the white haired boy, catching his attention as he turned to look at his newly founded friend.

"I took that long?" Toushiro asked in slight surprise, causing the round faced boy to look at him in confusion.

"You didn't know?"

The captain shook his head before narrowing his eyes and turning back to the sorting. That conversation with the hat must have taken longer than he had thought. In his ponderings he almost missed it as Ron, who was by now a pale green colour, became a Gryffindor and raced over to sit next to Harry, a huge grin on his face. Then Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet, beaming at the students before opening his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. 

"Welcome." he said, his voice not loud but managing to reach every ear in the room. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He finished before sitting back down. As everybody clapped and cheered, Toushiro looked at the others with a stoic expression before becoming caught in a conversation that had started between Harry and one of the other Weasley boys.

"Is he…a bit mad?" Harry asked his elder uncertainly. 

"Mad?" the boy asked airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

The dishes in front of them were now piled with food and Toushiro wrinkled his nose slightly at all the heavy English food that sat on them; things like roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. Sighing slightly he looked up the table, hoping silently that there would be something that would take his interest. Thankfully, he spotted a large bowl of rise a bit further along and he figured that that with some of the chicken legs next to him.

"Could you pass me the rice please Neville?" he asked coolly and the boy looked at him before nodding, his mouth filled with something or another. Grabbing the large bowl, the boy placed it down next to them with a smile. "Thanks." Toushiro offered with a slight curve of the lips before serving himself some rice, grabbing some chicken and digging in.

The rest of the night passed without much else happening and Toushiro managed to find out allot more about both his new friend and everyone else on the table. He was surprised to find that Neville had been thought of as not very magical as the boy held a great amount of reiatsu. But then, he supposed as he considered the boy's reiatsu again, it was more like his own reiatsu than the mutated version of the school. Maybe this boy was more suited for a different use of his power. Soon, all the plates vanished and Dumbledore stood up once again to say a final few things and to this Toushiro listened raptly.

"Ahern. Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore paused as he turned his twinkling eyes in the direction of the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." A few people laughed but Toushiro could see the man was deadly serious. Was this the reason the man had wanted him to protect the students? What was in the corridor that made it that deadly?

Then, before he knew it, they were singing. Toushiro had bluntly refused to sing along with the other students but he watched in amusement as everyone else joined in, the twins singing along to a very slow funeral march.

"Ah, music." Dumbledore said as they finished, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**I hope you are enjoying this story; I really do, because I'm enjoying writing it, very much actually. It won't be easy I'm sure but I am looking forward to writing it and hearing your comments in the reviews. I would also like to say that I have recently gotten into Nanao/Shunsui fics and have been reading them a lot (**_**as well as quoting them a fair deal- AnimeAiedail**_**)…just in case you were interested…**

**Animeloveramy**


	9. Chapter 8

_**Stark: "So which is more powerful, that ice bankai over there...or yours?"**_

_**Kyoraku: "I don't know. Hitsugaya's a genius. So in a hundred years or so he might be more powerful than me."**_

**oxo…oxo**

As Toushiro followed the group following the eldest Weasley, whom he had learned was named Percy sometime throughout the feast, to the dorms, he looked around; memorising the route. The walls and stairs were already familiar to him, if not still strange, and he could vaguely remember the way to the headmaster's office for a while until they went past a turning and continued to climb up the tower.

"Here we are." Came the pompous voice of Percy as the group came to a stop. He had lost Harry and Ron in the crowed but Neville had been sticking close to him the whole evening and Toushiro doubted he would have been able to loose the boy even if he tried.

They had stopped in the middle of the hallway and, from what Toushiro could see, it was in front of a large portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. He could see Neville gaping at it from the corner of his eye as the woman looked down on them and opened her mouth.

"Password."

"Caput Draconis." Percy supplied and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall, the first years all rushing forwards to scramble through it. Toushiro had easily gotten through but, at a tug on the back of his robes, he turned to see Neville with half his leg up and looking like he was about to fall over. He sighed before navigating himself around the boy and back out, giving Neville a leg up; pushing him into the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

The girls were directed through one door to their dormitory while the boys were directed through another to their own and at the top of a spiral staircase they found their beds; six four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, the boys pulled on their pyjamas and fell into bed.

Toushiro eyed the others with a small amount of interest. They all seemed like nice enough people and he contemplated if, maybe, this might be an ok year after all. His bed was situated between Harry's and Neville's; a good place for him to be able to protect the boy. Without anything else being said he also got into his bed, quietly thankful for the soft mattress beneath him as he drifted of to sleep.

**xxx…xxx**

His preconceived idea of it being 'nice' was ruined the next day by the introduction of some of the more annoying teachers. One, a man with a turban called professor Quirrell, was, as Toushiro himself had put it after he left the man's lesson, a joke. Not only was he afraid of his own subject but his stutter meant that you couldn't even understand him when he was speaking properly. There was only one thing the captain believed was good for teachers like that and that was to be fired as they were obviously no help to either the students or the school.

The other was a man with greasy black hair, cold dark eyes and a twisted sneer whom seemed to remind the young Taicho slightly of Kurotsuchi; never a comparison to be taken lightly. He decided as soon as the thought came into his mind that he was going to do his best to stay away from the man at all possible costs especially when the shinigami spotted him in the halls, yelling at a first year for 'tripping him over'. Toushiro had seen what had happened and he was pretty sure the young Ravenclaw had done nothing of the sort. Thankfully they hadn't had a lesson with_ him_ yet.

Then there were the corridors. How people had put up with the vanishing doors and moving suits of armour he would never know. With the hundred and forty-two staircases and doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place it was also very hard to remember where anything was. He would never admit that he was proud every time he found his way to the classrooms. He was defiantly going to have to do some exploring at night times.

It had been the second day of trying to figure out his way to transfiguration with Neville, Harry and Ron when peeves had decided to show up. Laughing hysterically he started charging towards them before his eyes widened comically and he drew up short, eyeing the white haired boy in the group with something akin to both fear and curiosity. Toushiro had shaken his head ever so slightly and narrowed his eyes, almost letting out a sigh of relief as the poltergeist said nothing before zooming away; dropping the water bombs in his hand on the heads of some third years further down the corridor.

Apparently Peeves had a larger amount of reiatsu then the other ghosts in the castle and, while he seemed not to know what he was, the young poltergeist had recognised the fact that he wasn't human, even through his Gigai. Almost gaining a new respect for the ghost, Toushiro followed on behind the other boys as they continued on to class; their confused chattering allowing the young shinigami to quietly follow on behind.

Most of the classes he found rather interesting given the circumstances and he found his favourites to be changing all the time, generally between transfiguration and astrology as they were the most interesting and the best taught. Astrology he favoured due mainly to the fact it was a night basically spent at the top of the refreshingly cold tower gazing up at the sky. It was a nice change from the always sweltering hot Gryffindor common room. Transfiguration because he enjoyed the sense of power it seemed to give him.

He had gotten into the habit of waking early to explore a little on his way down to the great hall, always arriving before any of the others. He, Neville, Ron and Harry had made a sort of group though it was clear to everyone the 'group' consisted of 'Harry and Ron' and 'Toushiro and Neville' except for coming down to breakfast when Neville would arrive with Harry and Ron before splitting off to sit with his white haired friend. On the Friday however it turned out that Neville woke up just after Toushiro, stirring as the shinigami pulled on his robes.

"Toushiro?" he asked sleepily. It had taken the boy a couple of days of saying the captains name over and over in order to correctly pronounce it and Toushiro was strangely pleased to know that, after having put up with the boy repeating his mispronounced name to the point he wanted to just yell at the boy to call him 'captain Hitsugaya', Neville was even able to say his name properly in his sleepy state.

"Yes?" he asked bluntly, turning to the bleary eyed boy now sitting up slightly in his bed.

"Where are you going?"

Toushiro didn't say anything for a moment before pulling his cloak around his shoulders and answering. "out." He replied simply, causing Neville's eyes to narrow, a sign the boy was waking up. Then his eyes widened again and he heaved himself out of bed and reached for his uniform.

"I want to come." He stated, his voice coming out a little uncertain and sounding slightly more like a question than a fact. Toushiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Fine, but hurry up."

Neville did so, pulling on his school robes quicker than he had seen the boy ever do so and they were walking out of the dorm room only a few minutes after. As usual there were a few of the older students milling around the common room, some doing last minute work as others just sat by the fire, obviously having a hard time waking themselves up. Toushiro paid them no mind, heading straight out of the portrait hole and out into the corridor, Neville following him silently.

The boy had seemed to have discovered rather early on in the past week that the young captain preferred not to talk and often would just allow the boy to natter without any input on his part. But today it seemed Neville had nothing to say though it didn't take long for the question Toushiro knew must come to escape the boy's lips.

"Where are we going?" he asked, a curiosity in his voice as Toushiro navigated his way around the seventh floor corridor. Aqua eyed locked onto deep blue and Toushiro gave the boy a small upward twitch of the lips.

"No where in particular. I use this time to explore the castle." He explained and Neville nodded slightly in understanding before smiling at the white haired boy. They wandered around for the rest of the morning, nothing much being said as they made several new discoveries and found the odd few locked doors and hidden corridors. As the pair came down to breakfast Toushiro was surprised to see Harry and Ron already sitting at the Gryffindor table eating, smug expressions on both of their faces as they reached for the food on the table. Toushiro wrinkled his nose slightly as Ron began to stuff the food into his mouth before following Neville towards them, content to let the boy take over the lead.

"Hello Harry, Ron." The boy greeted as they sat down opposite the pair. Harry nodded in greeting while Ron tried to speak around the food he had managed to stuff into his mouth in the short amount of time between seeing them and getting to them; a disgusting sight in Toushiro's opinion. Harry rolled his eyes before swallowing his own, rather smaller, mouth full of food.

"Hey Neville, Toushiro. Guess what, we made it down without getting lost once!" Harry said excitedly, a large grin spread across his face. _Well, that's why they looked so smug then _Toushiro thought dryly as he pulled over a piece of watermelon and began biting into it. Neville smiled back at Harry happily.

"Well done." He applauded simply. Toushiro just nodded before concentrating fully on his melon and ignoring the knowing smile directed his way by Neville.

The first time they had come down to breakfast Toushiro had been rather shocked to see the large plates piled high with different fruits rather than just the fried meats and egg the others seemed to enjoy. The red and green colour of the watermelon had caught his eyes immediately and he had made a beeline straight for the plate, forgetting where he was as his eyes glistened slightly.

Neville, Harry and Ron had been shocked as his new friend had proceeded to pile his plate high with the fruit before coming back to sit next to Neville, the tiniest smile on his face as he began to eat the messy fruit; somehow managing to keep his dignity while doing so. It was them most emotion they had seen from him since they had met, even if it had only been the day before, and it had startled the three boys into silence as they watched him eat. Finally he had felt their wide eyes on him and had looked up, a frown coming to his face at the surprise on their faces.

"What?" he had snapped, finally remembering where he was. It had been enough to jog the others out of their stupor and they had quickly scrambled to put food onto their plates and started eating. Neville had been giving him that look ever since.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge, Neville doing the same across the table from him.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins." Ron replied after he had swallowed his bacon. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favours them. We'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favoured us." Harry said, a slightly downed tone to his voice. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before. Not that Toushiro minded. In fact he believed that it was good that McGonagall didn't favour her own house. It was the mark of a good teacher when they treated everyone the same. Favouritism got people nowhere.

The mail came at the same time every morning, the flock of different shaped and sized owls startling the young captain on the first morning but he had gotten used to it. Akira had come to see him the second morning, accompanied by Harry's snowy owl Hedwig. Neither had carried letters that morning but today Hedwig had a small note in her claws and she dropped it lithely on his plate before settling down on the table next to the barn owl. Harry was tearing it open quickly and reading it as Toushiro had reached over to the bacon tray and gave a rasher to Akira, the bird gobbling it down hungrily.

Toushiro watched as he boy scanned the paper for a moment before a large smile came to his face and he looked around for something. Finally grabbing Ron's quill Harry began to scribble onto the back of the paper before giving it back t Hedwig and watching as she flew off, the small note gripped firmly in her claws.

"I suppose we should leave now then." Toushiro stated as he got up from his seat a couple of minutes later having finished his melon and noticing there were only a few first years left at the table. He had no intentions of being late. The others had nodded and gotten up slowly after, following Toushiro as he lead them down to the dungeons where the shinigami knew the greasy haired professor held classes.

The group relied on Toushiro and his apparent sense of direction to get to most of their classes as none of them really knew their way around the castle where as, unbeknownst to them, Toushiro had not only spent his mornings exploring but his nights as well. He had decided to give himself a week to settle in and get to know the castle before starting his investigations and reports to Dumbledore and it had been time well spent in his opinion. Knowledge of the castle increased his effectiveness to the mission. He winced mentally at the robot like wording.

It didn't take long before they arrived at the classroom, Neville's constant chatter dimmed by the intimidating surroundings but, the pickled animals aside, Toushiro found himself quite comfortable; the temperature suited him better here than anywhere else in the castle. After sweeping darkly into the classroom, gaining the attention of the class without a word, Snape took the register, pausing slightly at Toushiro's name before pausing again at Harry's; this time lifting his eyes from the paper and commenting softly.

"Ah yes. Harry Potter. Our new… celebrity."

There was sniggering from the Slytherin's and Toushiro could see Malfoy among them, the clowns he called friends sitting either side of him. After completing the register he put the book aside and placed his quill down on the desk before peering around the group, his eyes lingering a little longer on him than he would have liked.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." he began crisply, his voice breaking the chill silence that had descended the class. He spoke in barely more than a whisper but they caught every word as he continued, the class's attention on him and him alone. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses...I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death; if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Toushiro looked at Neville who exchanged his gaze with raised eyebrows. The captain's eyes were furrowed in annoyance as he turned his cold eyes back to the front. This man was purposefully trying to get the intelligent people in the class to rise to his challenge, an annoyingly clever method of producing results that he loathed to admit was working; all Toushiro wanted to do right now was prove this guy wrong yet knew doing so was playing right into his hands. Damn teacher.

"Potter!" Snape cried out suddenly, causing a fair few in the class to jump. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry just gawped at the man as the girl with bushy hair on the train he had later found out was called Hermione had stuck her hand up, the answer seemingly on the tip of her tongue as her eyes begged for Snape to let her answer. As Harry floundered, Toushiro rummaged around in his head for the answer, finally pulling it out of his mind before allowing a small smirk to fill his features. He would at least be ready if the man turned the questions on him. He hadn't read all of those magic books for no reason.

"I don't know, sir." Harry replied, confusion and vague annoyance lacing his tone. Snape's lips curled into a sneer that continued to remind the shinigami of the twelfth captain.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything." He said snidely, ignoring Hermione's raised hand. Toushiro thought he detected a hint of jealousy behind the scathing words and the smirk on his face widened slightly.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry obviously didn't have the faintest idea what the answer was as his resigned answer came quickly afterwards.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape asked again with a dark amusement; he was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. Toushiro just watched with a frown, irritation at Harry's complete lack of knowledge replacing his earlier amusement.

"I don't know." Harry said again quietly before his eyes twitched to the side slightly and he continued. "I think Hermione does though, why don't you try her?" A few people laughed and the smirk resurfaced again on Toushiro's face. At least the boy's quick wits made up slightly for his lacking knowledge. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down!" he snapped at Hermione before turning to look at the white haired boy in the row behind. Toushiro was sitting with his elbow on the desk and his cheek in his hand, the almost absent smirk on his face mocking the potions master as their eyes locked. Snape's eyes narrowed and he turned on the boy in front of him. He was supposed to be a protector according to Dumbledore but he was just a kid. With a snide smirk sweeping onto his face, Snape decided to put the young pretender to the test. "Hitsugaya! Same questions."

Toushiro raised an eyebrow slightly as the whole class turned their eyes on him. The greasy haired man was obviously trying to prove something and whether it was to himself or to Harry he wasn't quite sure. Sighing inaudibly he raised his head from his hand and stared the man directly in the eyes; no matter how much he didn't like it, it was best to _try_ and keep on good terms with the teachers.

"Yes sir. Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant so there is no difference." He replied emotionlessly causing Harry, Ron and Neville all to stare at him. He, however, was more interested in Snape as the teacher pursed his lips slightly. Toushiro's smirk widened slightly so that more people could see it and Malfoy had stopped sniggering in order to gawp at the young captain. Snape stayed silent for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he tore his gaze away.

"Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" he snapped, sending the class into a flurry of parchment and quills as he made his way back to the front of the class. Toushiro couldn't stop the triumph that seemed to race through him in that moment and was grateful the attention of the class had waned from him.

Not long after Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Toushiro was paired with Neville who, he soon discovered, did not have very much luck with potions. Toushiro had only looked away for a moment, focusing on the black haired teacher as he said something about Malfoy's stewed slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon from next to him. Neville had somehow managed to melt his cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. Thankfully Toushiro had been spared the potion as it had exploded out the other side of the cauldron. Besides that fact though the young shinigami could feel himself frowning at the groaning boy, thinking a less hostile version of what came from Snape's mouth..

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, his face twisted in anger as he cleared the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing." Snape spat at Toushiro, the young captain glaring slightly back; the room becoming several degrees cooler. But the man had turned away from him and Toushiro would have said something about his lack of manners if it wasn't for the groaning Neville at his side. Sighing slightly in annoyance he lead the boy out of the dungeons and back into the castle.

"What did you do?" he asked exasperatedly, causing the round faced boy to look at him pitifully.

"I might have added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire." He replied quietly, causing Toushiro to roll his eyes slightly as he helped his new friend up the stairs.

"Maybe you should leave the potion making to me." He replied, his usual stoic voice filled with a tired exasperation he was so used to using with Matsumoto it made him pause in his thoughts before Neville shook him out of it with a simple word.

"Yeah."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the hospital wing, the nurse inside ushering them in with a small frown before laying Neville on the bed and walking quickly around the room looking for healing things, muttering all the while. Toushiro sat by Neville's bed as the nurse, Madam Pomfrey as she had introduced herself as, smeared a strange smelling paste on Neville's swollen and boiled skin. He stayed with his friend long enough to get out of potions but was kicked out by the nurse at lunch time, telling him Neville needed rest and he needed food.

When he got down to the great hall he found Harry and Ron already munching on their usual sandwich, smiles on both of their faces as they chattered, the chatter coming to its natural conclusion as Toushiro sat down opposite them; oddly alone.

"How's Neville?" Harry asked in concern as Toushiro reached for some of the chicken sandwiches on the tray nearest.

"He'll live." The shinigami supplied before taking a small bite out of his sandwich and chewing at it contentedly.

"Has he got to stay in the hospital wing for long?" Ron inquired further, correctly guessing that that was where the other boy was. Toushiro swallowed before answering, his aqua eyes boring into Ron's brown ones stoically.

"He has to stay overnight but Madam Pomfrey said he could be released in the morning."

Harry nodded slightly at the information before a small smile came to his face.

"Do you want to come with us to see Hagrid?" he asked, his smile growing slightly at the prospect. "I got a note from him this morning asking me to come over."

Toushiro thought about it for a moment before shaking his head; he had planned to do some more exploring in the free time they had on Friday afternoons. He thanked the boy before turning back to his sandwich and allowing the others to chat around him; maybe he would take a look at the library in this exploration of the castle. Then he would send a message to Dumbledore and this weekend would start his investigations.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**I want to clarify something to people who have been asking; Ichigo will not actually be making an appearance in this story or at least not in the Hogwarts story part. He might be spoken of but it is very unlikely that he will turn up at all. Sorry if that disappoints any of you but I hope it doesn't put you off. I still want to see reviews in my inbox though, I hope to see more than I am at present. As for the mysterious girl in the prologue…well, you'll have to wait and find out wont you? ^_^ **

**In lighter news…nope, still can't think of anything. Oh well. I hope you all enjoy the story and remember to review! Thank you!**

**Animeloveramy **

**Though fan girls out there don't worry, all is not lost and as you may have gathered there will be plenty of Toshiro to make up for Ichigo (after all who needs Ichigo when you can have Shiro ^_^). Oh and the girl at the start? Well il give you a hint about her, she is…. *strangling sounds heard* Sorry guys, Amy here, unfortunately I had to kill Aiedail, sorry for any inconvenience ****J**

**-AnimeAiedail**


	10. Chapter 9

**"**_**It's not good to keep forcing this characteristic thing, Espada-san. And if you're going to talk about characteristics, not having a characteristic behavior is a characteristic of me.**_**"**

**Shunsui Kyoraku**

**oxo…oxo**

The library was quiet as he walked in, occupied mainly by a few older students reading heavy tombs and scribbling notes on parchment. He hadn't expected there to be any first years in the room and the bushy head of Hermione granger reading deeply in a corner surprised him somewhat. He let her be though, wandering through the tall bookshelves of the large room before pausing to watch as a book came flying past him and settled itself down on the shelf to his right.

He had always felt at ease in libraries though he had never really figured out why. The meaning behind such things seemed unimportant compared to things such as hollows, wars and death; trivial pondering had no real place in a captain's head, yet he thought it now as he wandered through the dusty shelves. There was just something about the smell of books, the smell of a library that he liked. It comforted him and reminded him of more peaceful times. At the moment it was reminding him of the library in the soul society and he felt he would spend a great amount of time there; information or not.

Pulling a random book of the shelf - _one hundred ways of charming a bat_ - he settled himself down in one of the comfortable chairs beside the window. Opening its withered pages he smoothed the paper with the back of a finger before beginning to read.

'_There are several different ways to charm bats and, contrary to popular belief, not all of them require any magical ability though it is well proven that the best way to do it is with a wand. in this book you will learn the ancient arts of sweet talking your bats – a muggle craft – as well as the more effective 'charms' such as bungiai and lendo manucop.' _

Toushiro didn't read much more, only scanned the page as he pretended to read while instead setting about pinpointing particular people's reiatsu. In the small amount of time he had been in Hogwarts he had gotten to know Harry, Ron, Dumbledore and Neville's reiatsu traces rather well and now found he could find them immediately and without much hassle. Searching the school he soon found the two more rowdy of the group outside the castle and somewhere in the grounds. He assumed that to be where Hagrid lived and broadened his detection skills. Sure enough he found Hagrid vaguely familiar signature only a couple of meters from theirs.

Deciding they were safe he turned his focus to Neville. The boy was still tucked up in the hospital wing and by the dulled sensation of his reiatsu the young captain assumed he was asleep; he was sure he needed it. Neville had been an oddity for the shinigami and, for some reason, had been growing on him. Whether it was something to do with the fact that the boy just seemed so utterly hopeless he didn't know but there was something about him that just intrigued the young captain.

Dumbledore was, unsurprisingly, in his office. He seemed to be pacing and a vaguely troubled aura was being emitted from him causing a frown to form on the young captain's face. What had the headmaster so worked up? Maybe it had something to do with Harry, or this 'philosopher's stone'? It could just be some trivial school matter or it could be something big. Whatever it was, Toushiro didn't know but he decided that if it was anything he needed to know then the old headmaster would likely tell him. That being said he didn't completely trust the man yet.

Flicking the page over without having read anything of the page before, he resisted the urge to sigh. This really was a pointless waste of time. Allowing his eyes to look over the top of the book he found them meeting the eyes of the bushy haired girl on the other side of the room. Apparently he had managed to sit opposite her without realising it. She blushed slightly as she realised she was staring before looking back down at her own book, the blush staining her cheeks long after. Toushiro watched her for a couple of minutes before closing his book with a dull thud and getting up from his seat before placing the book back where he found it on the shelf and striding out of the library. It would be good if he ever needed to look something up but right now there was no real need for him to be there.

As Toushiro strolled idly through the quiet corridors he made sure to keep constant tabs on both Harry and Neville. There was no need to tab Ron as he never strayed far from Harry unless he actually needed to, making it easier to determine where he would be. Taking a turn that diverted him from his usual route to the common room he made his way to the owlery, relishing in the bite the cold air seemed to give him as Hyorinmaru stirred happily at the back of his mind, loving both the temperature and the altitude of the high tower.

As he entered the main part of the owlery he looked around, searching through the hundreds of birds for his own barn owl and smiling slightly as he spotted her sailing through the chill air towards him. She landed softly on his shoulder, making sure not to scratch him with her claws as she let out a quiet screech and nuzzled his cheek. She seemed happy her master had decided to visit.

Scratching Akira's head absently he pulled out a spare piece of parchment and a quill from his bag before leaning against the small, dirtied table in the middle of the circular room and beginning to scrawl a message to Dumbledore. He wrote in Japanese kanji, assuming Dumbledore would know how to read it and also assuming that if anyone were to find it they wouldn't. It was a long shot but if Dumbledore couldn't read it then he would be likely to reply as such and the young shinigami would have to rethink his method of communication.

_Spent the week getting to know the school. Harry's signature put on trace. Will start on mission tonight (will be out and around the forest looking for any anomalies)._

_Hitsugaya Toushiro_

It was only a short letter and wasn't hugely descriptive but it would do its job and would be hard to quite understand if translated by someone he didn't want seeing it. Rolling the parchment up he gave it to Akira who held it carefully in her claws before hooting softly.

"To professor Dumbledore please," he informed her with a quick smile. She gave something akin to a nod back before stretching out her wings and taking to the skies, gliding softly from the tower in such a way it made Toushiro's heart ache. How he wished to fly like that again.

**xxx…xxx**

"Toushiro?"

The voice startled him out of his daydream and he turned quickly towards it, studying the now de-warted face of Neville Longbottom as the said boy studied him back curiously.

"What were you thinking about? It took me three tries to get your attention."

Toushiro blinked slightly before his eyes narrowed into a frown. He had been thinking about the soul society and about the people there he never thought he would miss and yet did. Then his thoughts had wandered to his childhood friends and his memories had taken a darker turn. He shook his head slightly at the round faced boy before resisting the urge to sigh as she turned his gaze out the window again.

"It doesn't matter." He told him, not really caring as the boy sighed heavily before falling ungratefully into the chair next to him. Neville had gotten out of the hospital wing that morning and it was now Saturday afternoon. Toushiro had been out all night patrolling the forest in his spirit form but nothing much had happened, the most interesting thing being his discovery of the centaur heard who had been less than happy at having a shinigami on their land. They had managed to make a truce however and decided that, so long as Toushiro was not lying to Dumbledore about his race and stayed off their land unless completely necessary, they would not tell the old wizard what he truly was. It had seemed a good enough deal to him and he had managed to gain a reluctant ally while he was at it.

The night time exertion had resulted in him lying in until ten, a fact that had surprised the other boys in his dorm; it had been a well known fact he got up early even if no one knew why. His constant daydreaming that had occurred after that had assured the young captain he would not be doing many all-nighters and would only do them at all if there was no other option.

The pair sat in a compatible silence for several minutes before Harry and Ron strode noisily in. they had spent the day exploring the castle and it seemed their travels had been good as they both arrived back in high spirits and were laughing loudly as they made their way over to where they sitting.

"Hello Harry, Ron."

"Hey Neville," the pair replied in union, throwing themselves into the last two abandoned chairs around the table. They tended to sit round the tables more often now due to Toushiro's preference to be beside the window. The shinigami hadn't really care where they sat and he had been surprised when, instead of sitting in the more comfortable chairs by the fire they came to sit by him and Neville. It had been the start of their odd friendship and Neville had seemed ecstatic to have more than one friend.

After sitting themselves down the pair began a game of chess, drawing the young captain's eyes as the pieces moved around the board on their own and without help. Neville had been chatting to him about something to do with a transfiguration essay but had stopped when he had noticed his friend's wavered attention. So they had both watched the game, the table becoming an island of quiet in the sea of voices that was the rest of the Gryffindor population. Ron annihilated Harry, beating him profoundly before beating him again in the requested rematch.

Leaning back in defeat, Harry took in Ron's gloating face and stuck out his tongue causing Neville to snort at the immaturity of it. Ron grinned back triumphantly before setting the board back up to start and turning to Toushiro who was watching the board intently, almost tactically; as if he were imagining what moves each piece could make and countering the imaginary moves of his opponent.

"You want to play?" he asked the white haired boy, causing his aqua eyes to fly up to the red heads face, emotionless as usual only with a hint of something more. Determination maybe? The taste of a challenge?

"Sure." He replied, his voice indicating nothing towards his statement yet nothing against it either. Ron's grin widened. The pieces didn't talk back as much to Toushiro as they had with Harry and eventually had stopped altogether, realising that not only was it distracting their player their advice wasn't needed. Toushiro knew exactly what he was doing and they respected him for it. Their game lasted an hour and by the end of it both Neville and Harry had lost interest, chatting quietly to each other as Toushiro and Ron played.

"Queen to A6," Toushiro commanded dryly, watching as the noble piece moved to the commanded spot and awaited further instruction. He was still getting used to the fact that the pieces could move on their own but he still found it fascinating to watch; especially when one of the pieces took down another. Ron studied the board for a moment, his finger brushing his lips and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, before commanding his own piece to move.

"Knight to C5,"

Toushiro felt himself smirk slightly and his reply move came quickly after. "Castle to C5," he said, watching as his little castle piece wrestled with Ron's knight before winning, sending the opposing player cascading towards the ground. Ron bit his lip slightly, his eyes flickering across the board as he searched for a counter.

"Castle to A7," he finally said, sending his own version of the piece who had just taken out his knight forwards. This time it was Toushiro's eyes that wandered the board though they weren't wandering for long before he called out his move.

"Bishop to D6," he said before smirking again as his bishop moved hurriedly into position. "I believe that's checkmate."

Ron stared at the board for a moment along with Harry and Ron, whose attention had been caught with the last word. Then Ron laughed slightly and looked up at the slightly smug looking Toushiro.

"Looks like it!" the red head cried out happily, seemingly shocked at his loss but thankful for a good game at the same time. "Maybe we could have a rematch sometime?" he asked, almost shyly as he studied the shinigami's cool expression. Toushiro paused for a moment before nodding his head. The boy really was good at chess and it had felt nice to be able to play seriously with someone. The last person he had ever played a serious game of chess with had been Ukatake and that had been before he had become a captain.

"Sure." He replied, the tinniest of smiles gracing his face as he watched the red head's face split into a wide grin. Neville was grinning too along with Harry and as they broke into a conversation about different games and sports they new Toushiro started to turn off. There would be no night time exploration that night. No, he needed his sleep he decided, sinking deeper into the cushioned chair as he relaxed as the cool air from the window caressed his nose.

The next morning he found himself walking into a crowed of people who were stood in front of the notice board, blocking the exit as they shuffled round in an attempt to see what was written that was so fascinating. Sighing slightly he motioned for Neville to follow him before making his way over to the edge of the group where he had spotted Harry and Ron chatting about something, the furrows in their brows showing they didn't like what they saw.

"Typical," Harry was saying darkly. "Just what I always wanted; to make a fool out of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," Ron replied reasonably, a valid point made to cheer his friend up. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch but I bet that's all talk."

"What's going on?" Toushiro asked them, cutting through their conversation like a knife. The pair looked over at him in slight surprise before Harry decided it would probably be a good idea to answer.

"Flying lessons begin on Thursday and we're partnered with the Slytherins." He explained, the last part of his sentence coming out as a groan. Toushiro raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Flying lessons?" he asked curiously, causing Harry and Ron to look at him.

"Yeah, flying on broomsticks; Quidditch and such," Ron explained. Toushiro just looked at him blankly. He had understood they flew on broomsticks but he had never heard an explanation of this Quidditch thing. Or he hadn't been paying attention when someone had explained anyway. Deciding it was best to ignore it for now he nodded; if it turned out to be information he needed he would look it up in the library.

"My Gran never let me near a broomstick." Neville piped up quietly. He was the kind of boy who got nervous at the strangest of times and for the smallest of things though Toushiro could kind of understand his need to be embarrassed. After all, from what he had heard everyone else from wizard families had been on a broom some time in their lives and having not been allowed on one must have been quite disheartening. Ron seemed to agree, throwing the round faced boy a look of pity before starting them off on his own stories of broomstick escapades. Neville and Toushiro didn't stick around long after that, heading down to the great hall for breakfast.

The young captain was just getting into his second slice of watermelon when Akira landed next to his plate, causing Neville to jump slightly and Toushiro to look up in both amusement and curiosity. The bird hooted softly before sticking her leg out for the boy to reach. Untying the note there Toushiro took it from the owl before feeding her a scrap of bacon and unrolling the small scroll of parchment he now held in his hand. Neville watched in interest, unable to see what it said, as Toushiro read the note, his eyes seeming to take on a kind of business like quality that Neville hadn't seen there before.

_Good, I am glad to hear you are well. As you have probably figured out by now the woods are home to many creatures who might not appreciate your presence. Please do not start any fights though you may defend yourself if necessary. I would like it if you could send me weekly reports and, on a different note, a nice choice of owl; she is marvellous. _

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian __Dumbledore (aka your loving father – if anyone asks)_

Toushiro stared at the last line of the note for a few seconds before Neville's voice cut through his confusion.

"Who's it from?" he asked, watching as Toushiro's aqua eyes flicked up from the paper and to his face.

"Just a small note from my dad," he lied. "Nothing special."

Neville just nodded before returning to his bacon, watching out of the top of his eyes as the shinigami turned the parchment over and began to scribble back a reply in some strange lines and squiggles he realised must be Japanese.

_Yes sir._

Toushiro put back simply before attaching it back to Akira's foot and watching as she flew out of the window. It was a good thing he picked a smart bird or he might have just blown his cover he pondered, his eyes meeting the crystal blue of Dumbledore's for the slightest of seconds before he went back to his watermelon.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Flying lessons next! Woop woop! Well, there is another chapter down and I hope you like it and continue to read. I want to thank all of you have reviewed and supported this story so far and I hope that you will continue to review and that I will do you all proud ^_^**

**Animeloveramy **

**Looking good, nicely executed chess game **

**AnimeAiedail**


	11. Chapter 10

"_**I'm a snake. My skin is cold. I have no heart. I use the tip of my tongue to find my prey as I slither on the ground and engulf what I like whole. That's the sort of creature I am.**_**"**

**Gin Ichimaru**

**oxo…oxo**

Thursday came around quickly with no further word from Dumbledore and nothing of much consequence happening. The first years around him had been going on and on about the flying lessons that were to happen that afternoon.

Hermione seemed to be terrified, the poor girl proceeding to bore anyone who would listen with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. Toushiro had decided to ignore her but Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later. She was interrupted by the arrival of the mail, cutting her lecture short as a scruffy looking barn owl landed in front of the round faced boy.

It was carrying a package that Toushiro soon found out was from the boy's grandmother and, opening it excitedly, he showed his shinigami friend a glass ball the size of a large marble that seemingly full of white smoke. Toushiro watched it in vague wonder as the small white clouds danced around.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained, gazing at the small glass ball as he continued his excited explanation. "Gran knows I forget things; this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight, like this, and if it turns red - oh..." His face fell as the Remembrall suddenly glowed scarlet, the clouds inside changing colour quicker than could really be seen. "…You've forgotten something." He concluded with a small frown. Toushiro smirked slightly at his friend's forgetfulness before stiffening, his eyes narrowing, when Draco Malfoy, who had been passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of Neville's hand.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, obviously half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who Toushiro had found could spot trouble quicker than any other teacher in the school, was there in a flash. 

"What's going on?" she asked, a small frown on her face as she surveyed the scene before her. Harry looked up at her, a frown on his own face as Ron continued to glare at the blonde across the table from them.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Neville explained quietly, always the pacifist. Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. Even he had enough sense not to push the transfiguration professor.

"Just looking," he said snidely before sloping away with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him. Toushiro glared at the boys back before making a hand signal under the table and breathing an incantation quieter than could be heard.

"Bakudo 9; Horin."

Allowing the kido whip to trail along the floor, he grinned when the blonde tripped over it, landing face first on the floor and causing the hall to fill with laughter at the blonde's expense.

The still present McGonagall eyed Toushiro suspiciously; the boys grin tainted with a knowledge that had the professor believing it was him. But, with no proof on the matter no particular urge to help Malfoy however much she tried to hide it, she moved on, floating past the Slytherin now sprawled on the floor, her shoes clipping the floor delicately.

Dumbledore however had seen more of the little trick than his deputy and was now watching the boy he had assigned to protect the school with a great amount of curiosity. He had known the boy to possess a power he didn't but to actually see him use something the old man had never even heard of was surprising. He hadn't really known what he had expected but this wasn't it.

The light that had escaped the boys hand had held a strange power to it, feeling to him like some kind of mutated magic. But the boy hadn't used a wand, only the two fingers closest to the thumb of his left hand where the light had burst from. Dumbledore was surprised that no one else had felt the small rise in power that came from Toushiro as he had performed the 'spell' and the whole thing was making him curious if slightly uneasy.

He wasn't sure anymore if he had made the right decision in asking this boy for help but, never one to disregard benefit of the doubt, he decided to leave it be for now. Toushiro hadn't done anything of any particular harm; he had merely played a prank which he had made sure to be fairly inconspicuous about. The same basic thing could have been done with a wand and if it had Dumbledore knew he would have had no qualms with it.

So for now he would let it be, but he would be keeping a closer eye on the boy. It was generally better to be safe than sorry.

**xxx…xxx**

As Neville and Toushiro walked towards the Quidditch pitch, the round faced boy studied his friend carefully. He hadn't known exactly what had happened but there had been some sort of strange power emanating from the white haired boy since breakfast, or was it only that he noticed it now? He wasn't sure, but he defiantly knew that, just before Malfoy fell over, Toushiro had let out a weird energy that seemed to have gone unnoticed by everyone else around them.

He wasn't particularly worried about it, he had no reason to after all, but he was beginning to believe that no only was his friend somehow the one who had tripped the blonde boy up, he had some kind of powers he wasn't telling about. The particular thought hurt him; why would he keep a secret from his friend? But then, he hadn't exactly been his friend for very long and Toushiro didn't seem like the kind of person who would just tell you his innermost secrets.

Of course that posed the question as to whether or not he should ask about it. He could, but would doing that cause the boy to move away from him? He didn't know just how personal this power thing was and didn't really want to snoop. But he was curious and curiosity killed the cat. Letting out an almost inaudible sigh he jumped when Toushiro's voice cut through his musings.

"An unasked question can haunt you forever you know."

Toushiro's aqua eyes were watching him blankly; the only emotion in the entirety of his face was just a hint of curiosity. Neville stared back at him with an open mouth before closing it slightly when Toushiro raised one of his perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"Where did you get that saying from?" he asked, attempting to hide the fact that he had just been caught off guard by the very person he had been thinking about. Toushiro didn't answer for a moment, looking back to the path they were following with what Neville could only call sad eyes.

"A friend of mine told me it once. He was the kind of person who enjoyed giving out advice and wisdom, even if he never followed it himself." He replied, looking up at the afternoon sky above them. Neville was silent, watching his friend for a moment before following his gaze to watch as several birds flew past their heads.

"Oh." Was all he said and they continued along the path in silence until they arrived at the lesson, Madame Hooch already waiting for them. After scolding the pair for being late she began the lesson, her short, grey hair trying its hardest to fly out in the breeze and her yellow hawk like eyes studying them all intently.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked, her eyes narrowed slightly as she gave out her orders. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Neville glanced at Toushiro, slightly surprised to see a look of apprehension on his face. In all the time they had talked he had never seemed the least bit worried about flying. "Stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'up'," Madam Hooch called from the front, gaining back the round faced boy's attention.

Toushiro was eyeing the broom warily. He had not been against flying, having done it so many times before, and was even kind of looking forward to being in the air again, but the broom below him with its mismatched twigs and bent 'saddle' did not look in the least bit safe or comfortable. He would not be looking forward to this. Sighing slightly at the teachers words he stuck out his hand and said "up." To his great surprise the broom shot right into his hands and he had to take a step back in order to keep his balance.

Letting out a breath he looked over at Harry and Ron, both having also gained their brooms, but Neville next to him was another matter entirely. His broom hadn't moved, blatantly refusing to lift itself into the dark haired boy's hands. As Toushiro listened to the boy repeat the words he decided that perhaps brooms had more of a conscience than he thought; there was quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

Madame Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, before walking up and down the rows correcting their grips. Toushiro snickered slightly when she told Malfoy he had been doing it wrong for years before concentrating on getting it right himself. He still wasn't sure he wanted to do get on the wooden pole underneath him but knew that he couldn't just throw a paddy and say he wasn't going to do anything; he certainly wasn't going to act like a child just because he was pretending to be one.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," the short haired professor instructed, her hard, calculating eyes studying at her students with a merciless expression Toushiro last remembered seeing in Soifon. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle; three, two-"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips. Toushiro pursed his lips as his friend let out a yelp, going to pulling him back down but missing as the broom accelerated upwards. 

"Come back boy!" Madame Hooch shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle; twelve feet, twenty feet. Toushiro could see his scared white face look down at the ground falling away before seeing him gasp and slip sideways off the broom. His eyes widening slightly Toushiro acted on instinct, dropping his own broom between his feet and leaping towards where he predicted Neville would land, catching the boy in his arms.

But he had misjudged the weight of his friend and didn't managed to keep his balance, ending up on the floor with Neville settled on his arms, the broomstick still rising higher and higher, starting to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. There was silence for a moment as the class took in what had happened before the pair on the floor suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Gryffindor's in the class.

"Out of the way!" came Madame Hooch's call and suddenly there was room to breath. Neville was groaning and Toushiro's arms were killing him though he knew he wouldn't know the extent of the injury until he examined it; not something he was looking forward to. "Come on boy, up you get."

Toushiro resisted the urge to groan in relief as Neville was helped to his feet by the worried professor. He had landed on something hard, and it wasn't particularly pleasant to feel the bumpy ground below him as it aggravated what he realised must be wound. After looking over Neville and finding him bruised but with no broken bones, Madame Hooch turned to Toushiro, crouching down next to him and trying to help him up. The white haired boy narrowed his eyes slightly, hissing in pain as the teacher tried to get a hold on his forearm to help him up. She pulled away quickly at the noise, watching as Toushiro managed to bring himself to his knees.

The skin on his forearms had been torn badly by the rocky hard ground it had landed on and was bleeding quite heavily from the wound. Toushiro frowned at it as he studied his arms, watching as the students eyes all widened in horror at the sight. He himself considered the wound small but he admitted that it hurt like hell, especially in his Gigai where his pain receptors were unused to being injured.

"Good lord!" Madame Hooch exclaimed as she took in his bleeding forearms. Toushiro looked up at her with cold eyes, staying silent as he got to his feet and waiting for the teacher to do so too. She did, pulling her expression back to its composed state and turning to the class. "None of you are to move while I take these boys to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dears."

She ushered the pair of them in front of her, back up the path and towards the castle. It was an awkward walk to the hospital wing, Neville walking silently with tears of pain trailing down his face, perfectly contrasting Toushiro who just stared ahead of him, his eyes stoic and unaffected. When they arrived they were swamped by Madame Pomfrey who set about fussing over Toushiro's arms and settling both boys down on separate beds before hurrying out of the room to look for the supplies she would need. Madame Hooch hadn't stayed long, going swiftly back to the lesson as soon as she got them into the relatively safe clutches of the school nurse.

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Madame Pomfrey swept beck in, placing the cotton wool and bowl of water on the table beside Toushiro's bed before turning to the boy with a small frown.

"I didn't take you for the kind of person who would get themselves injured Mr Hitsugaya." She muttered in vague annoyance as she set out to clean the wound. Toushiro let out a quiet hiss at her touch before shrugging slightly. Neville just watched as the nurse continued to work, strapping the wound after cleaning it before giving Toushiro a glass of some strange white potion and forcing him to drink it. He did so, albeit reluctantly, and she moved on to Neville.

He wasn't hurt badly, only a few bruises, cuts and a sprained wrist that the nurse easily healed, but she told him to stay, bandaging his tender wrist before waltzing back out of the room, her arms filled with the supplies she had been using and the frown still on her face. There was silence in the room for a long, tense pause before Neville opened his mouth.

"Thank you," he said quietly, his nervous voice catching the young captain's attention. His aqua orbs studied the round faced boy silently before the tiniest smiles came to his face, though it was soon covered up by a frustrated sounding sigh.

"You're welcome. I have to wonder though what exactly it is about you that attracts so much misfortune?" he asked dully, meeting his friend's now sheepish gaze. Neville scratched the back of his head apologetically before looking away in embarrassment.

"Sorry." He replied meekly, having no plausible answer to the question. Toushiro sighed; that boy was going to be the death of him, literally if it carried on like this. He didn't really know what it had been that had caused him to try and catch Neville like that and was rather unsure as to whether he wanted to know the answer. Had he really become that friendly with the boy in such a small amount of time? Or was it just the fact that it was in his job description to keep the students safe?

Toushiro dismissed the idea almost instantly. Something like that wouldn't have made him take the actions he had that day, only a strong connection to someone would have caused his instincts to go haywire like that. Unexpectedly his Fukutaicho popped into his mind, her bright eyes wide and her long blonde hair falling around her while her lips curved upward in a happy but shocked smile._ "You made a new friend Toushiro? Wow, good for you! I always knew you were a softy inside!"_

He resisted the urge to smile at the image. That was defiantly what she would say were she here and he fought the small bout of homesickness that came over him, brushing it off as he turned his eyes back to Neville who seemed to have something to say to him. The young boy might think he was being subtle but it was very obvious to him that he was having an inner battle on whether or not to ask him a question; same as earlier.

"An unasked question can haunt you forever you know." He repeated, causing Neville to jump slightly in surprise. Turning his cool eyes on the boy, he watched as Neville squirmed under his gaze before opening his mouth and closing it again, looking away from the Taicho in frustration.

Toushiro was intrigued. Whatever it was the boy wanted to say seemed to be eating him up inside and the young captain knew the round faced boy wasn't usually the one to keep something to himself like that. It must either be very important or very personal. Or both.

Neville turned back to his friend with a searching look. Should he ask or not? What if it was something bad? What if it wasn't and he was worrying about nothing? What if it was something he wasn't meant to know? What if it was something Toushiro desperately needed to talk about with someone? Staring into the curious aqua eyes of his friend he made his choice.

"When is your birthday?" he asked, keeping his voice nervous as he asked the question he didn't really want to ask. Toushiro's eyes showed surprise for a moment before the emotion was gone and he was turning away from the boy.

"Its December 20th." he replied, nothing in his voice to show any emotion, though Neville had to realise that there was less chill in it than there had been previously. The round faced boy almost let out a sigh but refrained. He would ask his friend about the power issue if it happened again. If it didn't then he knew it wasn't real, or that it was his imagination.

He kind of hoped that was the case.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader, **

**Well, what do you think is what I have to know? I hope you're enjoying it and I hope that you both review and continue to read. I can't really think of much else to say…**

**Animeloveramy **

**You forgot ^_^ No problem **

**AnimeAiedail**


	12. Chapter 11

**"_You lost to Kurama and Kurama lost to a dead guy, how's that for lame?"_**_**  
**_**Jin (Yu Yu Hakusho)**

**oxo…oxo**

Peeves was, if anything, peeved. That stupid reaper with his stupid powers and his stupid no good intimidation. It was annoying the hell out of the poltergeist. It had taken him a while to work it out but he had realised what the inhuman white haired kid was earlier that day when his strange power had flashed through the castle, stopping him just as he was about to jump out on a group of firsties with some of his newly acquired stink bombs. The kids had managed to get away from him after he had missed his chance so, cursing profoundly, he went down to see where the power had originated from.

Finding it was the great hall his curses only increased. Why did it have to have been somewhere he was banned from going? Especially when he could hear from just outside the doors that whatever had just happened had been immensely funny and he would probably never find out what it was. Glaring at the double doors with a look he hoped would burn a hole through the wood he waited, hoping that someone would come out soon.

A few minutes later his wish had been granted as the two red headed twins whom often supplied him with prankster tools walked out, grins on both of their faces and their hands in their pockets. Smirking slightly, Peeves had swooped down on them, causing them to stop and look at him, their grins never leaving their faces.

"What's up Peeves?" they asked together, as they so often did. Peeves had remained silent for a moment before allowing a curious look to adorn his face.

"What happened?" he asked, his high pitched voice quavering in the otherwise silent hall. The grins on their faces widened and the twin on the left answered him.

"Malfoy fell flat on his face!" he sniggered.

"Don't know how it happened but whoever did it is a genius!" the one on the left continued, giving his brother a high five as they burst out laughing once again. Peeves had found himself sniggering along with them, not really sure who this 'Malfoy' person was but finding it funny they had been pranked anyway. The twins had soon left and Peeves had found himself flying back up to the top of the large castle, not bothering to go round and instead going up and through the ceiling.

He was now floating around one of the hallways on the fifth floor, bored out of his mind as he looked for something to do. He _could_ prank one of the lessons he supposed…the entirety of the school had some lesson or another right now. But he didn't know which one. He couldn't go down to the dungeons for fear of the Bloody Baron's wrath, so it had to be one of the lessons in the castle. Professor McGonagall had been down in one of the abandoned classroom and had shooed him out to talk to some stupid students so transfiguration was a no and he didn't want to go all the way to the greenhouses for Herbology.

As he was still thinking about whom his next victim could be, his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin as he floated upside down, he was cut from his thoughts by the pompous voice of Nearly Headless Nick.

"…Yes, now that you mention it, I did feel something earlier. It gave me the shivers…"

His words caught the poltergeists attention and he flipped over in time to see the male ghost float passed, the Grey Lady floating next to him, her silver hair flowing gently down her back. He watched as the female's brow furrowed at the words before she opened her mouth to speak.

"It felt…familiar somehow." she replied before they disappeared further down the adjacent corridor. Peeves cackled softly before racing after them. Finally he could get something on that stupid white haired midget.

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington and Helena Ravenclaw looked up as Peeves zoomed in front of them, their gazes both turned from their pleasant confusion to, in Sir Nicholas's case annoyance and in Helena's a fake politeness. Peeves cackled at their expressions.

"Are the poor ghosty wosties having a hard time figuring it out?" he asked mockingly, causing Nicholas's eyes to narrow in annoyance. The poltergeist cackled again before flipping over backwards in the air.

"What is your purpose here Peeves?" the Grey Lady asked, her voice carrying a vaguely tired tone as she watched the playful apparition. Peeves pulled a face at her ability to get to the point. It was no fun and he found it annoyed him greatly. Almost letting out a sigh he floated away from them, setting himself into a cross legged position in the air.

"I know what caused that power." He told them, startling nick with his bluntness.

"You do?" he asked in surprise. The poltergeist blinked at him before sneering slightly.

"Of course I do. How could I not? That stupid reaper; getting in the way of my troublemaking."

Nick and Helena glanced at each other before turning back to the pouting poltergeist. He was beginning to mutter under his breath, an annoyed and almost angry expression on his little face.

"A reaper?" the Grey Lady asked, her eyes startled as she caught the Peeves attention again. He cackled at her expression before nodding rapidly.

"Oh yes…one of the new firsties isn't what he seems. I know who it is but I don't know if I want to tell you or not…"

"Peeves…" Nick warned angrily. The ghost had no patience for his poltergeist 'college'. Helena frowned slightly before moving forwards, towards peeves who watched her warily, unused to anyone willingly approaching him with anything but angry looks. The serine expression on her face caught him off guard.

"If you tell us I will make it so you will be allowed into the great hall for a day." She told him as she floated close to him, he voice low as in, in effort to keep it a secret between them.

"What?" came Sir Nicholas's startled voice from behind them but she ignored him, focusing on the poltergeist floating in front of him, searching her eyes for any kind of deceit. Finding none he grinned slightly.

"Promise?" he asked. She nodded and he cackled. "Alright then. It's the white haired kid in Gryffindor. He's the reaper. Stupid snot nosed brat." He muttered. Helena nodded gently, her hair fluttering around her.

"Thank you Peeves." She said before pulling back in thought, floating once again beside a disapproving nick as Peeves zoomed away, laughing loudly.

"What have you done?" the male ghost asked with a frown. Helena looked at him thoughtfully.

"Found the reaper. He should not be here…we must tell Dumbledore what we know. Besides, they can put up with peeves for a day." She replied before floating down the corridor, nick following slowly behind. Yes, they would need to inform Dumbledore…but she wondered whether or not she should wait. She didn't know exactly why the reaper was here but he had left them alone and she was sure that he knew they were there. There was no way he wouldn't.

She wondered what was keeping him from sending them on. She didn't want to go. Hogwarts was her home and she didn't want to leave it for anything.

**xxx…xxx**

Toushiro sneezed. Screwing up his nose he lifted a finger to scratch it slightly, his eyes catching Harry's on the other side of the table. The boy had a strange smile on his face as he ate his food and it made Toushiro vaguely curious as to what exactly had happened in the time between his 'saving' Neville and dinner. Madame Pomfrey had allowed him to go to the great hall for his dinner, telling him it would be good to socialize slightly, but he was to come straight back when he was done and was in no way to go back to the common room. Neville had accompanied him there but, as his injures weren't as severe as his, the boy had been allowed to go back to the common room that night.

When they had arrived it had surprised the pair that Harry had been alone. The boy had grinned at them before handing Neville his lost Remembrall, telling him he had left it behind. Neville had thanked Harry and they had sat down. Harry had asked if his arms were ok, which he had shrugged to, allowing Neville to tell what the nurse had said. Ron had yet to arrive at the table, same as most people; there were only a few people scattered around the tables.

It wasn't long before people started to filter into the hall, a wave of students filing in and bringing the noise with them. Ron was among them and he raced towards Harry with a worried look on his face.

"Harry!" he called, causing the bespectacled boy to turn and look at him, a grin splitting his face in two.

"Hey Ron." He greeted. Ron frowned slightly at his friend's expression before sitting down next to him. Toushiro was greatly surprised when the red head ignored the plates of food and turned straight to Harry.

"What happened?" he asked urgently, causing Toushiro to raise an eyebrow. Harry explained what had happened and Toushiro's other eyebrow rose when he heard the story of how Harry had gotten back Neville's Remembrall and then gotten himself onto the school Gryffindor team.

"Seeker." Ron finally gasped as Harry's story came to a close. "But first years never…you must be the youngest house player in…"

"About a century," Harry filled in, shovelling pie into his mouth. "Wood told me."

Ron just sat and gaped at Harry, still not even looking at the food. Toushiro wasn't sure exactly what was going on. He knew it was something momentous due to both the words and Ron's face, but not knowing about Quidditch had him stuck in this particular conversation and he vowed that, at the next possible occasion, he would look the damned thing up in the library.

"I start training next week," Harry continued around his mouthful of pie. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret." He concluded, looking over at Toushiro and Neville pointedly. Neville smiled while Toushiro just nodded, both agreeing not to tell in their own little ways. Harry grinned back at them before he was distracted by Fred and George Weasley who had just arrived at the hall and had spotted Harry hurrying over.

"Well done," George congratulated in a low voice, leaning down behind Harry in order to speak to him without telling the whole hall about the young boy's achievements. "Wood told us. We're on the team too - Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go; Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

And they left, leaving a rather bewildered group behind them. They only had enough time for a glance between them before Malfoy turned up, his sneering face no different from earlier only there was a spark of something Toushiro recognised as triumph in his eyes. The shinigami found he didn't like the look; nothing like that ever boded well.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" he asked, his voice sneering and cocky. Toushiro glared at him.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry replied coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. The fact caused a small smirk to cross the young captains face and he turned back to his meal.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," Malfoy said plainly, nothing in his voice saying he was truly bothered about it. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel; wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose."

"Of course he has," Ron interrupted, wheeling around to face the blonde Slytherin. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up before answering. "Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.

"What is a wizard's duel?" Toushiro asked curiously from the other side of the table, catching the attention of the pair. "And what's a second?"

Harry shrugged before looking at Ron who decided to explain.

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his now cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" Harry asked sceptically. Ron shrugged.

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.

"Excuse me." Came a voice from behind them. The four looked up to see Hermione, her eyes hard and her expression disapproving.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" Ron muttered, picking at his pie before looking at it with a slightly wistful expression. Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. 

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying-"

"Bet you could," Ron continued to mutter causing Neville to smile slightly at the boy's annoyance.

"-and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night; think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you." She concluded, causing Toushiro to scoff slightly. Thankfully, no one heard.

"And it's really none of your business," Harry replied dismissingly. 

"Good-bye," Ron followed up, adding in a small wave to get his point across. Hermione glared at him before turning to Toushiro.

"You agree with me, right Toushiro? They shouldn't be breaking school rules!" she pleaded with him. He looked up at her with cold eyes before shrugging. No, they should not be breaking the rules. He knew that and yet they probably wouldn't listen to him anyway and he had never been one to fight a pointless argument.

"I don't really care." He replied, gaining smiles from the two boys opposite him. Hermione just stared at him for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as she looked for a counter before her jaw snapped shut and she marched away, obviously not happy with his answer. He smirked slightly at her retreating form before going back to his meal, the bandages around his arm rubbing slightly against his skin. He supposed he would have to follow them…though not in his Gigai. He would leave that sleeping in the hospital wing.

Popping a piece of meat into his mouth he sighed. Tonight was defiantly going to be interesting.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Well, here is another chapter and I hope you like it. I believe its starting to move away from the book now and I'm kind of liking where it is going. I hope that you do too but I'll never know unless you review…^_^ *hint hint***

**Animeloveramy **

**And she promises cookies for reviewers too ^_^ doncha Amy? ;)**

**AnimeAiedail**

**Ya…**


	13. Chapter 12

'_**Hey there, it's your birthday. Gen happy! Happy when you're born, happy when you're young! Happy when you're old and grey. Congratulations, here's to you! Happy birthday from everyone to Dio!' **_

_**Dio (Last Exile)**_

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro crept silently along the large corridor, keeping to the side as he followed the small group of first years down the hallway. They were moving quickly and quietly, trying there best not to make a sound as they looked around nervously. When Toushiro had found them he had found himself rather surprised and annoyed to see Neville out with them, his friend sniffing quietly as he followed the two other boys and the bushy haired girl from earlier. Why she was with them he had no idea.

They arrived at the trophy room without incident, all of them still looking around wearily as they entered the room, oblivious of him following him. The room was empty of life but the crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls with Toushiro following silently, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand, ready to face the blonde he came to meet as soon at Malfoy arrived. The minutes crept by with nothing happening.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered but the thought was cut off from as a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner…"

It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Toushiro watched in vague amusement as Harry began to wave madly at the other three to follow him and they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. Toushiro followed them cautiously, keeping out of sight of both them and the caretaker. He had no express desires to deal with the man today.

"They're in here somewhere," he heard the man mutter, "probably hiding."

Harry mouthed something to the others and they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. Toushiro watched them quietly from his hiding place in the shadows of a curtain, his heart beginning to beat faster as he watched. _It's like watching one of those thriller films Matsumoto likes so much_ he thought ironically, trying to get his body back under control. Filch was getting nearer and the young captain was wondering if he should do something to help when Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run tripping and grabbing Ron around the waist, the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. Toushiro almost cursed at his friend's stupidity, knowing he would have to intervene now as Filch whipped his head round at the noise, his eyes narrowing as a small smirk came to his face. So long as they got out fast without any noise he would be able to pass the thing off as his own clumsiness and they would be fine. Unfortunately, thinking they were done for anyway, Harry threw that idea out of the window.

"Run!" he cried before sprinting off, the others following closely behind. Thinking quickly he let out an audible sigh before walking out of his hiding place, distracting the caretaker from following the others. Filch stared at him for a moment, a glint in his eyes that told he obviously thought the young captain a student. The look was confirmed by his words.

"Ah…what have we here? A student out of bed? It's my lucky day."

Toushiro didn't reply, only moved closer to the man and into the light of the moon, its silvery gaze making his hair glow and his eyes shine menacingly. Filch's grin faltered slightly as he realised who it really was who stood before him.

"You're that kid Dumbledore hired, aren't you." He said, his narrow eyes colouring with a hint of detest. Toushiro nodded slightly before fixing the harrowed man in front of him with a cool look he usually reserved for unruly squad members.

"Indeed. I would prefer it if you did not go after those students; they are helping me with something I need to look into but they do not know who I am. I would like to keep it that way." He commanded, voicing it as a request but with a voice that would not take no for an answer. For the first time in a long while Filch felt fear. There was something about the boy's eyes that made his senses scream 'run'. It put him on edge as he replied, taking a small step backwards out of impulse. He narrowed his eyes though, his dislike of being bossed around by a 'student' overpowering his fear.

"And why should I do that? They have no right to be out of bed."

Toushiro narrowed his eyes further, causing Filch to rethink his answer, grumbling slightly as he turned to head back the other way down the corridor. Toushiro nodded before turning away from the retreating man, running down the corridor in the direction the others had gone. What he had said had been a half lie, but he knew that if he didn't go after them not only would it seem suspicious but they might get into even more trouble than they had before. He began to flash step, tracking them by the reiatsu he had grown to know so well. He eventually found them outside the charms classroom, all of them puffing slightly as they struggled to get their breaths back.

"I…told…you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I…told…you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, his voice heavy as he spoke, "quickly as possible."

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."

Harry ignored her, straightening up and looking around. "Let's go." He said, his words spurring the others into motion, Toushiro following cautiously behind. They soon found, however, that it wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. Toushiro almost groaned; Peeves. The poltergeist was nothing but trouble.

"Shut up, Peeves, please! You'll get us thrown out!" Harry begged as Peeves squealed upon seeing them. The ghost cackled, a large grin on his face. This was not going to be a good night.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, his eyes glittering wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way!" snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. Toushiro couldn't help the low and exasperated groan that forced itself to the surface at the action. _What a complete and utter idiot_.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" Ducking under Peeves, the four ran for their lives, Toushiro following at a slow flash step behind, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door; it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned dramatically, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. There was no way Toushiro would be able to save them twice in one night.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked, the door swung open and they quickly piled through it, shutting it behind them. Toushiro was locked outside but he knew where the corridors led. His heart beating he waited, not daring to move and not wishing to get caught by filch again.

"Which way did they go, Peeves." The old man asked impatiently. "Quick, tell me."

"Say please." Peeves goaded, his small eyes flashing in wicked amusement.

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," the poltergeist replied in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right -please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" Peeves cackled before whooshing away, leaving Filch cursing in rage. The old caretaker fumed for a moment before storming away. Toushiro breathed again before narrowing his eyes at the door. Silence. Then a deep rumbling started on the other side of the door; most of the sound being blocked by the heavy door but the rumbling was still very much there. The growling grew to a roar as the door swung open again and the group fell through, their eyes wide and their faces pale. The door swung shut as they scrambled to their feet, charging their way down the corridor and back up towards the common room.

Toushiro watched them silently before turning his eyes back to the door. Whatever was behind it was not friendly and he now had no doubts that this was indeed the third floor corridor. Behind the door and behind the growling beast was the stone, or the way towards it at least. He briefly debated checking it out but decided against it. Whatever creature was behind that door was alert now and waiting for intruders; it would not be wise to test it further. Besides; he was pretty sure he would get the whole story from Neville tomorrow, if Harry and Ron didn't get there first.

**xxx…xxx**

"-Hagrid took me to vault seven hundred and thirteen. He got a package from it. I know it has to be what that dog was guarding." Harry was saying as Toushiro walked up to the breakfast table the next morning. He had gone back to the hospital wing that evening, returning to his Gigai. Madame Pomfrey had checked him over that morning and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, discharged him. Grateful for the escape he had walked straight down to the hall for breakfast.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," Ron theorized, poking his fork into the piece of bacon on his plate.

"Or both," Harry replied, leaning back from where he had been resting on the table and sharing a look with the red head in front of him. The young captain smirked slightly, looking down the table in an attempt to spot Neville. Unable to see the boy he sat down next to Harry, thanking him with a nod as the boy pushed a large platter of fruit towards him.

"You sound like you were deep in conversation." The white haired boy prompted dryly. Harry looked at him with a frown before smiling slightly, an excited glint in his eyes.

"You will not believe what we found last night." He replied. Toushiro resisted the urge to snort slightly before looking up at the bespectacled boy from his watermelon with his usual bland expression.

"Try me." He replied, a small smirk coming to his face as Harry grinned. He launched into an explanation of what happened and how they found Neville and Hermione, about escaping from Filch and the three headed dog behind the door. Toushiro listened with a blank expression never giving anything away.

"So now we are trying to figure out what it's guarding under the trap door." Harry concluded, beginning to dig in to his now rather cold breakfast. Toushiro nodded slightly before going back to his melon. Maybe it might be worth asking Dumbledore more about this stone; all he really knew about it was that it was important and protected but he knew better than most that just because it was protected, that didn't mean that it wouldn't be taken. The Hogyoku was good evidence for that.

Then again, if the old wizard didn't want to tell him before it wasn't likely he would now, especially given the fact that they hadn't know each other long enough to be completely trusting. If this stone was important enough to be protected by a three headed dog along with others that even included him to an extent, then it wouldn't be information given out to just anyone.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Harry groaned, very loudly, and Toushiro looked back up, scanning the hall for the little white poltergeist that was somewhere inside. Everyone around them was on edge until water bombs began falling over the Slytherin table and Peeves' cackle became louder, more ecstatic. A smirk grew on the boy's faces as a particularly large bomb split over Malfoy's head, drenching the boy with water. The furious look on his face was like gold to them as he started yelling in the ghost's direction. Peeves just cackled before chucking more bombs at the blonde, hitting his target every time.

"Go Peeves!" came the cry of the twins as they laughed, watching the scene with great excitement. Toushiro's smirk grew. He would bet anything it was those pair who had given the poltergeist the water bombs and got him to attack the Slytherins. Ron whooped slightly, the three starting the laughter and cheering of the Gryffindor's, gaining the table some disapproving looks from the teachers. Looking over Toushiro noticed the amused glint in the headmaster's eyes and disapproved his apparent lack of caring at the chaos being created while at the same time gaining a new respect for him. He had obviously been around children too long.

"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall cried, effectively gaining the attention of the floating poltergeist. He grinned at her cheekily, waiting for her to continue. "What are you doing? You aren't allowed in the school hall!"

Peeves cackled before doing a swift back flip, his eyes alight with glee. "But I was a good little boy and gave the lady the information she wanted. I'm allowed here today and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" he replied, cackling again at the stunned look on the professor's face. Suddenly, the poltergeist looked at the captain and a small, knowing smile came to his face before he zoomed low over the Slytherin's heads; dive bombing a couple of them then racing over to the door and exiting quickly, his laughter being heard long after he had vanished.

Toushiro just sat there a moment. Peeves had given 'the lady' information about him he was sure. That last knowing look the ghost had given him confirmed that fact more than any words could have done. But who was 'the lady'? Was it a teacher? Or a student perhaps? He doubted either of these. Peeves had a certain disrespect for rules and so wouldn't talk straight to a teacher, the role of teacher being a very rule up keeping one. A student wouldn't have been able to get him access to the hall and probably would have only a fraction more luck in being able to get him to talk than a teacher. Only the Weasley twins seemed to have any of the poltergeist's respect.

So who else could it have been? His eyes wandered slightly around the room before he caught the gaze of one of the school ghosts. He didn't know her name but the look she was giving him, the intensity of her eyes, showed him she knew something; something about him. He narrowed his eyes. So this was 'the lady' hu? She was sat the Ravenclaw table, only taking her silvery eyes off of him when she was pulled into a conversation with one of the students. He watched as she smiled politely at them, seemingly giving them advise or information if the looks on the two girls that were talking to her was anything to go by.

"Toushiro?"

The captain almost jumped but stopped himself just in time, shaking himself out of his reverie before looking over at the owner to of the voice. It was Neville, the young boy looking at him with a small amount of worry.

"Are you ok?" he asked, his eyes searching as he attempted to get an answer from his friend. Toushiro smiled slightly at the boy before nodding, picking up his last slice of watermelon and biting smoothly into it.

"I'm fine," he replied after swallowing, "Though it seems whenever I'm not there to watch you, you end up getting yourself into trouble; I heard you had a very eventful night last night."

Neville swallowed, a small tint of fear clouding his eyes as he sat down next to his white haired friend. "You could say that."

Toushiro paused, taking the melon back away from his mouth and closing his lips, focusing the boy next to him with his blank but comforting gaze. Neville shivered slightly as he relived the events of the night before.

"I never want to go anywhere near that monster again…it stank of death." He whispered, his voice filled with a fear that made Toushiro's heart twinge slightly. If that's what the boy felt about a dog from his own world then what would he think of the shinigami? He was, after all, dead. If the smell of death made Neville frightened then how would he see the soul reaper; an incarnation of death itself? The thought made the captain slightly sad but he pushed the feeling way before turning back to his melon without saying anything. Neville remained still for a minute or two before starting to pull bits of food towards him, greeting nearly headless nick with a small smile as the ghost floated past.

_Then again_, Toushiro supposed, _he seems to be fine with ghosts. _

**xxx…xxx**

Dumbledore was back in his office when the grey lady floated through the door, her silvery form swaying slightly in the small breeze that flitted in from the window. The old wizard looked up at her with a confused but pleasant smile; it was unusual for a ghost to visit him in his office.

"Hello Miss Helena. How can I help you?" he asked politely, placing the quill he had been holding on the desk and resting his arms gently onto the parchment he had been writing on. The ghost smiled back at him, before floating closer to the desk, knowing now she was welcome.

"Sorry for barging in on you Dumbledore but I have some information that you might wish to hear." She informed him, turning her head to meet his eyes, her beautiful silver hair following her movement in the floaty way she was so used to. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, leaning forwards across the desk in interest.

"Oh? And what might that be my dear lady?"

Helena took her time to answer, searching for the right words. She was a vivid believer of the expression 'think before you speak' and made sure she knew what she was saying before she started a sentence.

"I wish to inform you that there is a reaper masquerading themselves as a student," she told the old wizard, watching as his eyes widened slightly.

"A reaper? But I thought they were all gone?"

Helena nodded. "As did I and yet the aura is unmistakable; there is nothing else it could be."

Dumbledore felt himself frowning. So history told it, as very little known history as it was, the reapers had died out several hundred years ago due to lack of hollows to fight. There had been no need for them, no need to exist as the hollows were beginning to decrease due to magical increase. The growing magical community was causing the hollowing process to dull, the particles of magic in the air causing ghosts to stay permanently in the air or move on to the afterlife. So the reapers seized to exist, the afterlife able to run itself and no hollows being created.

"Do you know who it is?" he asked, looking for more information from the female ghost in front of him.

"The first year with the white hair; or so Peeves tells us."

"Peeves?"

"Yes. I must admit that it was the poltergeist and not me whom figured out it was a reaper we were dealing with. Believe it or not he has more spiritual power than us normal ghosts. It is the reason he can pick things up and move things around." Helena explained, her thoughtful eyes trailed on Dumbledore, waiting for his reaction to the news of the reaper.

Dumbledore himself was in shock. Toushiro Hitsugaya, the person _he_ had 'hired', was a reaper? It explained allot he supposed, and also explained how there was still a reaper around. Japan wasn't as magically orientated as England and so would still have hollows. The reapers would still be there, helping the souls of the dearly departed pass on to a better life. The news wasn't too worrying, after all; if he had wanted to do anything to harm either the students or the ghosts then he probably would have done by now. The only thing of any substance he had heard the boy doing was saving Neville in the flying lesson and that certainly couldn't be seen as bad. The old man looked back, thinking about the white haired boy's words when he had asked why he was at Hogwarts.

"_I'm here on a mission." He replied simply before continuing as Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in question. "Someone changed time in a way that has destroyed my timeline so I have come fix it. I traced the disturbance to this place but a year from now."_

In under a year's time now something was going to happen that shouldn't and Toushiro was here to make sure it didn't. But if he was a reaper then what could happen to the school that changes time so bad they would send someone back to change it? And in England? He was obviously Japanese through his name and manner but he was in England and alone. A wash of sympathy went through the man and he decided he needed to know more. He would talk to Toushiro and get the full story. There was no way the reaper couldn't tell now that Dumbledore knew his secret.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader,**

**Ok, so this is chapter 12 of the power of a letter and I hope you are all enjoying it. First, I would like to say for all the mothers out there; happy mothers day! Next I would like to say "happy birthday!" to Hitsugayataichoda who asked me to get this done by their birthday. This is my birthday present for you. I hope you enjoyed it and that you have a good day. Thank you for reading and reviewing this story continuously and honouring me by requesting its update on/before your birthday ^_^**

**Animeloveramy **

**Happy Mothers day to any of you who happen to me mothers if any of you happen to read this **** and Happy Birthday to Hitsugayataichoda **** hopefully you enjoy this and continue reviewing ^_^**

**AnimeAiedail**


	14. Chapter 13

"_**Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent."  
**_**Gaara (Naruto)**

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro had been curled up in the library when he had heard a sharp tapping noise on the window behind him. Turning, he saw the faint outline of an owl through the rain spattered glass and got up in order to let the bird in, realising immediately it was his own owl. She looked very bedraggled from the storm raging outside but there was no mistaking her intelligently bright eyes.

Akira hooted loudly as she landed on her master's shoulder, shaking the rain from her feathers before nipping slightly at the boy's ears. Toushiro scratched her head absently before taking the note she held in her claws and giving her one of the little owl treats Harry had given him. She snapped it up quickly before extending her wings and taking off, leaving back through the window she had come in by. Apparently this note didn't require an immediate answer.

Setting the Quidditch book he had been reading on the table next to him, he opened the note and scanned it, taking in the short message it contained.

_I would please like it if you came to see me in my office this evening; I have something I wish to discuss with you that cannot be done by note. The password is 'gummy bears'. You know the rest. _

'_Your loving farther'_

Toushiro repressed a sigh before frowning. Nothing good could come of this, nothing good at all, but he had to go. Besides, he had some questions to ask Dumbledore and if the old man wanted answers from him then he would go for a trade of information and try not to tell the wizard anything that he didn't need to know. He would even lie if he needed to.

Picking up the book again he lent back in the cosy chair of the library and continued his reading. Surprisingly he had found himself deeply interested in the book after the first few pages and the information it contained was very useful, going through all the rules of Quidditch and how it was played. Begrudgingly, he could now see why the two boys were so into it; it looked like it would be a very interesting sport to watch.

"Toushiro?"

The shinigami looked up, surprised by the voice that called his name. He would see her often in the library but other than the time at the Gryffindor table she had never spoken to him. He studied the way she twisted her fingers nervously into her bushy brown hair, wondering why she was talking to him now. He hadn't exactly been nice to her the only other time he had.

"I wanted to ask…why didn't you agree with me the other day?"

Ah. So that was why she was talking to him. He lowered the book and straightened himself in his seat, pondering how exactly he should go about answering or if he should answer at all. The reason was simple really but he wasn't sure exactly how to put it, so he just answered honestly; not thinking at all.

"I knew they wouldn't listen to me even if I argued so I decided not to bother wasting my time doing so." He answered, watching as she frowned at his words.

"But what they were doing was wrong," Hermione replied, confused. "Shouldn't you always try and stop people who are doing things that are wrong to the best of your abilities?"

Toushiro shrugged. "That depends on what it is they are doing. What they were actually doing was fairly mild really and they weren't pulling anyone else into it unwillingly. In the end it was their own choice if they did something stupid and would have paid the prise of it themselves if they had gotten into trouble."

Hermione looked at him for a moment, taking in his words. "But they could have lost Gryffindor house points."

Toushiro barely stopped a sigh, closing his eyes as he struggled to keep his patience with the girl. Why was he even trying? Wouldn't it just be easier to walk away and leave her to her misguided conceptions of rules? He knew it was only a mild thing that the boys had done but he couldn't tell Hermione how he knew that. It would mean explaining about more serious things that a 'first year muggle born' wouldn't know and that would cause trouble.

"Think of it this way, if they had gotten into trouble then yes they might well have lost points. But the bigger a fuss you make about it, the more likely it is that what they were doing would have been found out by someone who would tell a teacher and get them into trouble. However it _didn't _happen. So it's fine." He replied, looking the girl in the eyes as he spoke, unsure exactly why he was going to such lengths to try and convince her. She nodded slowly and he smirked slightly. "Sometimes you need to take risks, Granger."

She opened her mouth to reply before closing it and nodding again. She then proceeded to pull a book from the shelf and sit down next to him, allowing her legs to curl up underneath her as she opened the book and began to read. He looked away, raising his own book back to where he could read it before turning back to her again when she spoke, a small tinge of pink dusting her cheeks.

"You can call me Hermione you know." She told him, her eyes still searching the page instead of looking at him. He watched her for a moment before looking back at his own book, deciding not to reply at present. He would try and work out his relation to the girl at a later date. But for now, he would learn what he could about Quidditch; he was looking forwards to no longer being lost in conversations.

**xxx…xxx**

That evening came quickly for Toushiro and he soon found himself wandering the corridors, having left his Gigai back in the dorms; seemingly asleep with his covers nearly drowning him. He was, in no way, looking forward to this meeting. It could be nothing good he had decided and good things were the only things he really felt like dealing with right now. Unfortunately he didn't have too much of a choice.

So, he sped towards the gargoyle that hid the old professor's office, deciding to try and get it over and done with as soon as possible. Because really, how bad could it be? The soul reaper scoffed at the thought, saying the password before watching as the gargoyle jumped aside. He then proceeded to knock on the door, keeping a stoic face as he walked in on the wizard's command.

The office was the same as it had been when he had first been there, but it still took a lot of effort for him to keep his eyes trained on the man behind the desk. There was a small twinkle in Dumbledore's blue eyes that made Toushiro feel vaguely uneasy. That was the look of a man who knew something, something you wouldn't want him to know. It was the look of a man who wanted to flaunt that knowledge.

"Welcome Mr Hitsugaya," The professor welcomed politely, a smile on his face as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat wont you?"

Toushiro hesitated slightly before walking over to the seat, taking Hyorinmaru off his back to place on his lap and sitting down on the large chair; feeling very much like a naughty little kid. He did not enjoy the feeling.

"You wished to see me professor?" he asked, his tone cool and emotionless, letting the man in front of him know he wasn't all too happy about the fact. Dumbledore's smile widened and he nodded, seemingly not noticing the almost disgruntled glare being given by the shinigami.

"That I did and I since know you like to get right to the point I will do so. You see, I have come across some information that I found…well, lets say _interesting_. I would like it if perhaps you might answer a few questions?"

Toushiro said nothing, choosing instead to just glare slightly at the man. He knew damn well Dumbledore would ask them anyway so he wasn't going to dignify that particular question with an answer. Indeed, Dumbledore continued on, realising straight away he would get no reply to that question.

"What do you know of reapers, Mr Hitsugaya?"

_Shit_

"Reapers professor?"

Dumbledore nodded, not fazed by the lack of emotion in Toushiro's voice or expression. "You see, one of the ghosts came to see me the other day about a very mysterious matter. They told me that there was a reaper in the school, pretending to be a student."

Toushiro continued to say nothing, hoping beyond hope that the man didn't know it was _him _and was just telling him to keep an eye out. It was a vein hope.

"They told me it was you. Are they correct?"

Toushiro's eyes narrowed as he looked into the man's face, seeing no negative emotions and feeling surprised. In fact, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling and there was a small smile playing on his lips. His eyes narrowed further. There was really no point in lying; he knew that if it was a ghost who told Dumbledore then he would take them seriously. After all, ghosts were the only ones who could sense soul reapers and so they were to be believed in this matter, especially because they only usually dispatched a handful of shinigami to England due to the growing wizarding population and so lack of hollows. Oh, there were still a few but no where near the level of other places such as Japan.

Besides, if he didn't tell the truth now then the man would be less likely to believe any lies he might need to tell later. So he nodded, saying nothing and watching in annoyance as Dumbledore's smile grew.

"I see. So now that that's settled I have some questions to ask if you don't mind." The old professor continued, not waiting for an answer before rushing into the first question. "First, I thought that reapers were extinct due to the decreasing population of hollows?"

Toushiro raised an eyebrow at the question. It seemed Dumbledore knew a fair amount about them already; the fact that they hunted hollows, that there were more of them and probably other things too. But extinct? Apparently wizards were far more narrow minded than he had given them credit for.

"Obviously, we are not extinct," _very much the opposite in fact._ "The shinigami just did not find the need to send many 'reapers' to England giving the scarce amount of hollows that actually appear there."

He decided that the truth would be best, or a small part of the truth at any rate. Dumbledore didn't need to know the fact that they only sent the weaker shinigami along with the new recruits as basic experience training. There weren't even many regular patrols. Sometimes there were student exercises there but that was a rare occasion too.

The professor nodded behind his desk before shuffling slightly in his seat, digesting the information given before coming up with the next question.

"So, other than the fact that you are on a 'mission', why are you here?"

Toushiro pondered that one for a moment, debating what to tell the curious old man behind the desk.

"I believe I have told you this already. Someone changed time in a way that has destroyed my timeline so I have come fix it. I traced the disturbance to this place but a year from now."

"Ok." Dumbledore replied slowly, the infuriating twinkle still in his eyes. "So what happened in England to change your timeline so bad when there are little to no hollows here?"

Toushiro sighed. There wasn't really any way to lie out of this one without it sounding…well, childish. "A…friend of the shinigami failed to show up and 'save the day'." He summarised, cursing Dumbledore to the pits of hell as the man lifted an eyebrow in question.

"Sounds interesting. Care to elaborate?"

"It's a long story with I don't really care to recall." Toushiro dodged the question, almost sighing in relief as Dumbledore nodded and left it alone. He did not want to get into that right now. It would mean explaining a lot of information about the soul society that he really didn't want to divulge.

"So, this friend. They are from England then?"

"He is Japanese. In fact he should be about ten years old at this point."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Do you know why it was here that the disturbance was caused then?"

Toushiro shook his head negatively. The old professor hummed slightly before leaning forwards into his chair, watching the Taicho in front of him with eyes that told of new found realisation.

"Maybe he is to come to Hogwarts?"

The young captain narrowed his eyes in thought. It was a possibility. After all, the first year of Hogwarts started when the students were eleven years old and if Ichigo was ten now and the disturbance happened here next year then it was in fact quite likely. But what would convince Dumbledore to take Ichigo, a person from Japan with no magical power, into Hogwarts?

He was going to find out.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers, **

**There we go then ^_^ I'm sorry for the wait, this story was just sort of stuck in my head and wouldn't get itself down onto paper…well, word document anyways. So thanks for sticking with it and hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner than this one was ^^**

**Animeloveramy **

**Diggah Tunnah. Dig digga tunnah - Quick before the hyena come**

**AnimeAiedail**


	15. Chapter 14

**"_Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one and only truth." _**_**  
**_**Alphonse Elric (Full Metal Alchemist)**

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro frowned as he looked up from where he sat with Neville, Ron and Harry at the owls now filling the great hall, pausing with the slice of watermelon he held just in front of his mouth. Closing the lips he had opened to eat, he lowered the melon, gaining the attention of Neville who looked at the shinigami before following his gaze to the long, thin package carried by six large screech owls.

Harry and Ron soon looked up as well, followed by the rest of the great hall, everyone's attentions caught. The raven haired boy gaped in amazement when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

Harry ripped open the letter first, having difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read who in turn handed it to Neville and Neville to Toushiro. The white haired boy took the parchment before casting his eyes upon it and reading its contents.

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor McGonagall 

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" he heard Ron moan enviously as he lifted his eyes back to the scene before him. "I've never even touched one."

The two boys then left the hall quickly, wanting to open it straight away, leaving Toushiro and Neville to finish their breakfasts as they raced to unwrap the parcel. The pair looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and carrying on, ignoring the muttered conversation about their two friends running around the hall.

Feeling eyes on him, Toushiro looked up, catching the eyes of Dumbledore as he scanned the room. The old man nodded slightly before looking away again. They had come to mutual agreement and no more information had been discussed, deciding that the best way to work would be the same as they had been before. The young Taicho had left quickly, going for a short run around the grounds before returning to his bed where he had slept for most of that morning. That had been a couple of days ago and nothing of real consequence had happened in between.

Neville watched as Toushiro began to eat again, and, when they had finished, they left the great hall, joining Harry and Ron in their next class. The pair looked happy, chatting to each other at the back of the transfiguration classroom before the lesson started. Toushiro and Neville sat on the desk in front of them, pulling their books out of their bags as McGonagall started the class.

"Today we will be looking at transfiguring a stick into a writing quill." She stated crisply, walking around the class as she handed each student a small twig.

_Moving on a bit from matches aren't we…_Toushiro thought blandly as he eyed the stick resting on the desk in front of him. Neville beside him had a look of immense concentration on his face as he sized up the twig, holding his wand out in front of him in an attempt to do the spell. McGonagall raised a critical eyebrow.

"Mr Longbottom, I haven't told you what spell to use yet."

Neville blushed scarlet before placing his wand back down on the table. Toushiro fought back a smirk at this, finding the whole thing rather amusing but not wanting to embarrass the boy farther. Harry and Ron, however, were not so tactful; the pair of them chuckling away behind him with their hands over their mouths.

"Thank you. Now, repeat after me – Scribblifors." Professor McGonagall instructed, nodding as the class did so. She then went on to show them the proper wand action needed to perform the spell and having them practice it with the stick before letting them loose with the wands.

Hermione was the first to get her stick to look anything like a quill and finally succeeded in getting it perfect by the end of the lesson. Toushiro had managed to get his to look vaguely like a quill but, instead of being the pure white of Hermione's, his was the same brown his stick had been previously. Though he found himself annoyed by this fact, he had to admit, at least to himself, that he was doing better than the rest of the class.

Neville hadn't been able to make any significant change to his stick and was really beginning to get aggravated about it until Toushiro was finally able to point out to him that he had been trying to turn his wand into a quill with his stick, rather than the other way round. The boy soon swapped them round and they agreed never to tell anyone if the incident.

Harry and Ron had managed to get small bits of feather to appear on their sticks but no further, no matter how hard they tried to change it. By the end of the lesson they both handed in their half-turned-quill sticks to McGonagall before heading out of the classroom and onto the next one.

The whole day past like that and as seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Leaving Neville and Ron to a game of exploding snap, Toushiro found himself disintegrating his Gigai and jumping onto the roof, finding a comfortable place where he could relax and keep an eye on Harry at the same time. The thought of being on a broom still did nothing for him, but he had to admit that Harry carried it very well, allowing flying a broom to look like the most desirable thing to do in the world. He wasn't convinced, but he would allow himself to admit that it did look fun in a way. Though he would always find flying without a broom to be much more exhilarating and a lot safer.

The next month or so passed quite quickly for Toushiro, finding himself caught up in the work that needed to be done. He had never planned to take this so seriously but the fact that magic seemed to be something very akin to spiritual pressure – the thing that he realised was actually fuelling his wand – interested him to no end. It was also a good excuse to get to the library where he had, unexpectedly, made a fairly pleasant acquaintance with Madame Prince. Apparently the fact that he was appointed by Dumbledore changed her narrowed opinion that he was a filthy child only out to get her and her books. He was pleased by this development.

On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. It was a smell Toushiro had found odd but rather pleasant and what was even better, to the others at least, was when Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.

Put into pairs to practice, the class divided; Neville with Toushiro, Harry with Seamus Finnigan and Ron with Hermione Granger. The young captain could tell that neither Hermione nor Ron were particularly happy about this particular arrangement.

The white haired boy had tried half-heartedly to get her to let her strange annoyance towards the two boys go but to no avail. He had soon stopped however; finding there to be no point in trying anymore.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

The class found it very difficult. Looking around, Toushiro saw Harry and Seamus swish and flick, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop, along with every other feather in the classroom. Neville wasn't having much luck either, his tone getting more and more aggressive and annoyed as he tried again and again to get the small white feather to float.

Twirling his wand between thumb and finger, Toushiro just allowed Neville to get on with it, instead watching others around the room fail to different degrees of amusement. He was just watching one of the Patils begin to start moving her arms around in a strange 'spooky' fashion when Hermione's voice attracted his attention and he looked at the pair just in front and to the left of him.

"You're saying it wrong," he heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa. Make the 'gar' nice and long."

Ron huffed at her words, glaring at her with venom before folding his arms and sitting back into his seat.

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," he snarled back at her, annoyance clear in his eyes.

Hermione rolled her eyes before pulling up the sleeves of her gown, flicking her wand and complying; clearly stating the name of the spell with a sharp "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Their feather rose off the desk before beginning to hover about four feet above their heads. Toushiro found himself smirking at Ron's surprised and awed but disgruntled expression as he watched the feather begin to climb higher and higher. 

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ignoring Neville's awed expression, Toushiro took his wand properly into his hand before swishing and flicking it at the feather, saying the incantation with the same clearness of tone Hermione had. He wasn't too surprised when the feather flew up to join hers, almost laughing as Neville turned to look at him with a scowl.

"Come on Neville," he said in amusement, bringing the feather back down to land gently on the desk, "try it again and I'll see if I can help you where you're going wrong."

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, Neville and Toushiro trailing quietly behind them before watching – Neville with slightly worry – as Hermione strode past them, "she's a nightmare, honestly." Ron continued, not noticing the bushy haired girl behind them until she brushed past Harry, knocking his arm gently and holding her head down to try and hide her tears with her hair.

"I think she heard you." Harry muttered as they came to a stop, his features a frown as he watched the crying girl turn the corner.

"So?" Ron asked, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Toushiro scoffed slightly, causing Neville to turn to look at him with a confused look. The young captain remained silent however, deciding not to tell what had crossed his mind in that moment.

Hermione hadn't turned up for the next class and hadn't been seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, they had overheard some of the girls gossiping about how she was crying in the girl's bathroom and wanted to be left alone.

Ron had looked still more awkward at this and Toushiro felt he was glad for the boy's awkwardness. Hermione had only been trying to help him, albeit in a rather harsh and uptight way but it was the only way she had really known how to do it, especially with his dislike of her already apparent. In the times he had spent in the library with her he had found out that she really wanted to consider them her friends.

As they entered the great hall they saw that it had been completely transformed for Halloween. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet but, just as the students were beginning to dig in, Professor Quirrell came in, his turban askew and terror on his face.

"Troll! In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know…" he said as he reached the professors table before sinking to the floor in feint. Toushiro narrowed his eyes slightly at the man. Though he looked like he had fainted, his spiritual pressure hadn't changed like it would if someone really had feinted and suspicion flared inside his brain as he took in the defence against the dark arts teacher.

His words, however, brought uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element. "Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

Toushiro watched as Harry, Ron and Neville began to follow the red head before he himself disappeared into one of the secret passage ways he had found on his many explorations of the castle. Dissolving his Gigai again he made his way up to the third floor corridor, only slightly surprised to see Quirrell standing at the doorway as if debating weather or not to go in.

It was as the man opened the door that Professor Snape came round the opposite corridor, his pace quickening at the sight of the door swinging closed. The white haired boy sighed slightly before flash stepping towards the door and appearing next to it at the same time as Snape. The potions master stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing at the boy standing before him.

"Shouldn't you be in your dorm?" he asked in a dry tone, annoyance dripping from his words. Toushiro glared at the hooked nosed man before him.

"Shouldn't you be down with the other teachers trying to find this troll?" he countered icily. Snape looked at him for a moment before walking past him and through the door where the pair were met with a rather startling sight.

A huge, three headed dog was staring at them intently, watching them like a lion stalking its prey as it waited for them to make the first move. Quirrell had frozen just inside the door of the room and it was the startled motion of his head turning that gave the dog the distraction it needed.

The middle head lunged forwards with a loud bark, large fangs headed straight for the frozen Professor. Quirrell stared at the head in terror before gasping as it stopped, blocked by Toushiro as the young captain used his _Zampakuto_ to try and ward it off. It worked and he was able to send the head reeling, but it was promptly followed by an attack from the other two heads.

Toushiro noticed with annoyance and muttered curses that Quirrell had vanished, but he vaguely was pleased to find that the black robed Professor hadn't abandoned him as the potions master cast a shield charm over the pair of them, watching as the dog rebounded against it.

"Get out of here!" Snape cried out to him as the dog collected itself for another strike. Toushiro looked at him for a moment before flash stepping out of the way of one of the heads and blocking the second with Hyorinmaru.

Snape, however, wasn't so lucky, only just managing to avoid a fatal blow but instead getting one of the fangs too close to his leg. He cried out in pain before sending a red jet of light at the dog, watching as it reeled back in pain, shaking its head in an attempt to try and undo whatever he had just cast on it.

Toushiro grunted slightly as the Professor fell to his knees, his breaths coming out in harsh rasps. Then the white haired captain flash stepped away from the dog, grabbed the black haired man by the arm and flash stepping out of the room, closing the door swiftly behind him.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**I am sooo sorry that I have taken this much time to write this and all I have to placate you is the fact that a fair amount happens in it…I think. But the next one shouldn't take as long as this…I hope. I apologize now if it does…**

**But please, don't forget to review!**

**Animeloveramy**

**If it's any consolation I'll try and kick her up the bum to make the next chapter come faster. If there is a different beta reader next time you know how well that turned out ^_^**

**AnimeAiedail**


	16. Chapter 15

_**We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one, And Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!**_** – Peeves **

**oxo…oxo**

Severus Snape had not been this shocked in a long time.

He had believed that, after almost being killed by a werewolf, becoming a death eater, loosing Lily and becoming a school teacher and spy for Dumbledore, that he would never be so surprised again. It seemed, however, that he was wrong.

The white haired boy in front of him had done things he had never seen before and it unnerved him to the core. It wasn't even as if Dumbledore hadn't told him the boy was special and Severus found himself being mentally told off for being in the state that he was in. Not that it was obvious of course. No, he highly doubted the boy could see any of the surprise or confusion in his face due to the immense amount of pain that was likely there.

Usually, if he were injured in any way, he would not allow himself to show the pain he felt, to show the weakness of the human body. But this time it was a welcome mask to hide the cornucopia of emotion that was raging through his brain at the present time.

Clutching his cloak to his leg in an effort to stem the blood flow, he looked up at the white haired boy presently securely locking the door that led to the three headed monster his wound had been caused by. His vision was slightly clouded as he struggled to get over not only the pain of the bite but the strange way in which he had moved them from the room.

It had been almost like apparition only that, instead of the feeling of being squeezed, it was more like time had slowed down enough that he could move at a seemingly faster pace. It had vaguely winded him, more mentally than physically, but he was glad to be able to pull a straight and stony face when the boy turned to look at him; his own aqua orbs like ice.

Neither spoke for a long moment before Severus slowly got to his feet, keeping his weight on his good leg and gazing down at the boy with a curious expression. The boy was wearing an outfit Snape had never seen before; strange black trousers and top with a sort of long sleeveless jacket on top. It looked, from what the potions master could tell, very Japanese, the katana on the boys back only helping to prove this theory.

Slowly raising a black eyebrow, Severus finally spoke; voicing the thought that had been traversing his mind since the boy had first blocked the dog behind the door.

"What, was that?"

The boy's eyebrow rose as well, mirroring his teachers as they stared at each other; stone against ice.

"I do believe Dumbledore has told you about me?" came the slow reply, the boys voice cold but at the same time it was if he were talking to a small child. Severus' eyes narrowed.

"I do not appreciate your tone boy," he noted as Toushiro his narrowed eyes in interest. "And although the headmaster may have told us that you are…different, that does not mean he explained the exact fundamentals of what you can do." He paused for a moment as if contemplating something before continuing. "Does _he_ even know?"

"He knows who I am."

"That doesn't completely answer my question, _boy_."

Toushiro pushed back a growl at the obvious attempt to aggravate him, instead choosing to glare at the man as he contemplated his answer. The one he had given had been near enough the truth. Dumbledore didn't know _who_ he was exactly, but believed he did. The old wizard in fact only really knew _what _he was, but Toushiro wasn't about to go spreading that little piece of information around.

"The headmaster knows enough to deem me necessary and trustworthy. If you think differently then go and speak to him; I doubt his mind will be swayed."

That was the truth, but it was an avoidance of the question. Snape narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth as if to say something else but was stopped when a loud bang rattled the hallways, coming from a few floors above. A small jolt ripped through him as he reached out with his spiritual pressure only to find that Harry, Ron and Hermione were all situated where that bang had come from and from the way their reiatsu was spiking it was no innocent situation.

The pair shared a glance, putting their argument aside for the moment in favour of getting to where that bang had sounded from. All noise had stopped by the time they had arrived, Snape poking his head round to see Professors Quirrell and McGonagall, the latter looking enraged while the former looked rather feint, telling off a shamed Harry, Ron and Hermione, each hanging their heads at the professors words.

Toushiro sighed silently as he noticed the troll, making sure he was unseen as he watched behind Snape for a moment before leaving, there was nothing much else to do anyways, and making his way to the headmasters office; completely content to wait until he got there if he wasn't back already.

He wasn't and, as Toushiro sat in the room waiting for him, the young captain allowed his eyes to roam the mysterious objects that littered the desk and the snoozing paintings on the walls. It was the first time that he noticed the golden bird perch sitting to the side of the desk and he vaguely wondered what kind of bird it was for.

He wasn't able to ponder long however as Professor Dumbledore swept into the office, followed closely by Professors McGonagall and Snape. McGonagall seemed to be trying to tell the headmaster something, her stern voice rising and her expression both worried and confused.

"…could a troll get in? The wards Albus…there's no way it could have got past them on its own; they aren't smart enough!"

Dumbledore just nodded, not having spotted Toushiro as the white haired boy sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"I know Minerva but think about what you are suggesting." The old wizard spoke calmly in his attempt to ease the transfiguration teachers mind. "No troll could have gotten past Hogwarts' wards, its true, but no one could have gotten a troll in from the _outside_."

McGonagall paled slightly in realisation, remaining silent as Dumbledore turned back to his desk, spotting the fact that they were not alone. Toushiro's pale aqua eyes scanned the three teachers before giving each a nod and standing up. Height wise he was loathe to admit that it didn't make much difference – the chair he had been sitting on was a rather tall one – but the mere fact that he was now standing like a teacher rather than sitting like a student made him feel older and more superior than he would have otherwise. He almost cringed when he realised how childish that was.

"Mr Hitsugaya?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes as bright as always but confused. Snape was watching him with a searching expression, seemingly wondering if the white haired boy was trustworthy. McGonagall, who hadn't seen him in soul reaper form before, just stared.

"I thought you might like to be aware of the fact that there was an incident in the third floor corridor this evening Professor." Toushiro stated, his eyes flickering to Snape quickly before meeting the headmaster's eyes once more. Dumbledore cocked his head slightly in question, indicating Toushiro to explain. He did, telling the three the basics what had happened that evening.

"So Professor Quirrell was in the third floor corridor?"

Toushiro looked at McGonagall for a moment before nodding; that _was_ what he said, wasn't it?

"Why were _you_ there?" Snape asked, causing Toushiro to eye him coolly.

"Like I said, I noticed that the man hadn't really fainted so I followed him."

"And you know this how exactly? If the headmaster didn't realise Quirrell was faking it, why would you?"

Toushiro sighed at the potions master's sheer pigheaded stubbornness.

"I have the ability to detect a person's reiatsu, or spiritual pressure. I can see what level a person has or is emitting, levels that change regarding whether a person is conscious or not."

The room was silent as its occupants took the words in. The white haired captain could see them all trying to wrap their minds around the information he had given.

"So Quirrell did not faint?"

All this repeating what he had just said was beginning to grate on Toushiro's nerves, but he contained his annoyance, instead turning his cool blue eyes on the old wizard who had spoken before nodding silently.

"What are we to do then Albus? We can't leave things as they are, it's not safe."

Dumbledore turned his electric blue eyes on McGonagall's worried expression and smiled.

"Do not worry Minerva; I'm sure Mr Hitsugaya knows what he's doing. You will look into it?"

Toushiro nodded slowly, the second half of the sentence directed at him. He wasn't sure he liked being told what to do but, he supposed, the headmaster was only asking. Technically. And he was planning to do it anyway. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

"Good, then we are finished here for this evening. We cannot do anything without proper evidence – it's a serious accusation. Keeping an eye on the situation will be best. I'd like you two to help Toushiro if he needs it. He is only a 'student' after all."

**xxx...xxx**

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver-skin boots.

Toushiro, however, was in his element.

"How on earth can you walk around when it's as cold as this in nothing but your robes?" Neville asked him as they walked to Herbology one morning. The boy himself was wrapped up in scarves and gloves, a tissue held to his nose as he attempted to fight the cold that had bunged it up. Toushiro just looked at him in amusement.

"Its quite easy really, you just put one foot in front of the other-"

"You know what I mean!"

Toushiro smirked at his friend before continuing to walk towards the greenhouses. Harry, Ron and, surprisingly, Hermione were walking together a little way in front. Ever since the mountain troll incident the three had become fast friends, a development that Toushiro found that he liked.

It was nice to see the girl laughing and having fun with others. She was a nice enough person, but her know-it-all attitude when it came to work often turned people off. It seemed Ron and Harry had finally managed to see through that and to the quiet but fun and kind girl inside.

The Quidditch season had begun too and the first game of the season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, was that weekend. Toushiro found it was easier to track Harry the closer it got to the game as he was more often than not to be found on the Quidditch pitch, training. This meant he had a lot more time to track Quirrell, a task he found rather boring.

It wasn't as if he ever did anything abnormal. He just taught his classes, sat in his office or patrolled. There was, however, one thing that bugged the white haired captain about the whole thing. A few times, usually at night when he was resting in the common room or patrolling the corridors, the defence teacher's spiritual pressure would all but disappear. The only thing he could put it down to was that the man was a very deep sleeper, but something didn't quite fit in that theory though he wasn't sure exactly what it was.

The Friday before 'the big game', as Gryffindor's had dubbed it, Toushiro and Neville had been lounging around in the common room playing wizards chess, the young captain sat beside the open window while the dark haired boy sat closer to the fire, the pair having found a place that compensated for their difference in temperature preference, when Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in, a sour look on the boy's faces.

"What's up with you?" Neville had asked as they came to sit beside them. "You look like you've just eaten a badly flavoured Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean."

Ron pulled a face as he collapsed into a chair, Harry falling into the one next to him while Hermione seated herself, which much more grace, into the one on the opposite side of the table, next to Toushiro.

"Snape just confiscated 'Quidditch through the ages' from me. He said 'Library books are not to be taken outside the school' which I bet he just made up to spite me." Harry grumbled, shifting restlessly in his chair as Hermione brought out her charms homework, beginning to read through it, and Ron began to focus on the chess game. It was Neville's turn and he was loosing. Again.

Pulling his bag closer to him, he fumbled around for his own charms homework before scrawling a few more sentences onto the end and passing it over for Hermione to check, which she did so slightly grudgingly. Ron soon copied Harry and the girl found herself checking through them both, changing bits here and there so that it was correct and made sense.

It wasn't long however before Harry became restless.

"I'm going to go and ask Snape for my book back," he told them as he stood. Toushiro debated going with him for a second before shaking the thought off. He wasn't entirely sure his presence with Snape would be of any help or just make the matters worse.

"Better you than me," Ron and Hermione muttered together while Toushiro just nodded silently and Neville gave a small smile before murmuring a timid,

"Good luck," as the boy walked away.

**xxx...xxx**

"Checkmate,"

Neville stared at the board in wonder before frowning slightly at his third defeat of the evening. He was also pretty sure his white haired friend had been going easy on him. The word caught Ron's attention, and the boy silently surveyed the chess board before grinning.

"Can I have a game Toushiro?" he asked, sitting up in his seat and looking over at them. Toushiro looked over at Neville and the boy snorted.

"Sure, go ahead. I'm off to bed anyways." The round faced boy replied before getting up, tentatively stretching his legs and walking away. Toushiro watched him climb the boy's staircase before turning to Ron, who had taken Neville's place.

Their game was half way through and the common room he become empty save for them and Hermione when Harry walked back through the portrait hole, a strange look on his face.

"Did you get it?" Ron asked as the bespectacled boy joined them. "What's the matter?"

"I just saw Snape and Filch in the staff room. Snape had a large gash down his leg and said something about 'keeping his eye on all three heads at once'. He got really mad when he saw me; I didn't really have a chance to ask about the book, but do you know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him – he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"

Hermione's eyes were wide and Toushiro was just blinking wordlessly at him, as if contemplating his idea, or his stupidity.

"No, he wouldn't," Hermione replied defiantly. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," Ron snapped. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"

_If only you knew,_ Toushiro thought before moving his queen so that it completed his strategy.

"Checkmate."

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Sorry for the wait, I truly am. I just got a bit stuck in the middle but, hopefully, it should be ok now. Hopefully. Maybe. Well, who knows? It should be ok though. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and I would love it if you took the time to review just once more ^_^**

**Animeloveramy**

**Chess ^_^**

**Animeaiedail**


	17. Chapter 16

**'_It's always a lot easier to let something fall apart than it is to try to hold it together.' _**_**  
**_**Yumichika Ayasegawa (Bleach)**

**oxo…oxo**

The next morning dawned very bright and cold, just the way Toushiro liked it. The great hall was filled with excited chatter, the smell of freshly cooked sausages filling the noses off all of the occupants. Everyone was excitedly looking forwards to the upcoming Quidditch match. All except one.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast?" wheedled Hermione. 

"I'm not hungry," Harry replied, picking at the sausages already on his plate, courtesy of Ron. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field. Toushiro thought he needed to pull himself together. Not eating was the worst thing the boy could do. 

"Harry, you need your strength," Seamus Finnigan, intervened, his own eyes excited but concerned. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."

Toushiro rolled his eyes at the boy's useless attempt to help. What a stupid thing to say. Harry apparently agreed but tried his best not to show it, thanking the boy as Seamus piled ketchup onto the sausages.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch, many of the students with binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Ron, Hermione, Neville and Toushiro joined Seamus and Dean up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry; Ron, Hermione and Neville had painted a large banner on one of the sheets, saying 'Potter for President'. Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath before getting Hermione to perform a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colours. Only then was Toushiro, who was best with heights, allowed to attach it to the front of the box of seats. That way, they found, the banner was there but they were still able to wave the flags around or clap and cheer when a goal was scored; not that Toushiro would be doing that.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. 

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her, her voice floating up to the stands, caught by the wind. "Mount your brooms, please." She continued before giving a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air and they were off.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor." The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall. Just from the first few lines Toushiro deduced that it was going to be entertaining commentary. He wasn't wrong. Lee was an amusing commentator by anyone's standard, and Toushiro had to admit that he found the boys one sided comments as amusing as the rest seemed to. It was about half way in when a booming voice came from behind them.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Hagrid!" Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them, Neville and Toushiro turning around to greet the giant man as he settled himself into his seat. 

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," Ron replied. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," Hagrid murmured, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.

Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. Toushiro watched him for a moment, concentrating on the feel of they boy's reiatsu to make sure he was ok.

Not all that much happened for a while, apart from a sighting of the snitch, the catch foiled by a foul that Toushiro had frowned upon…along with the entirety of the Gryffindor population, some louder than others. Harry just continued on, obviously annoyed but taking it all in his stride.

It was a few minutes later when Toushiro felt a spike of energy from the teachers stands, an energy he felt he knew very well. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion he searched for Harry. The boy had just dodged another Bludger when his broom gave a sudden lurch. Toushiro continued to watch as the broom continued to buck, no one else seeming to have noticed anything yet.

It wasn't long after the first burst of reiatsu from the teachers that the young captain felt the second, this one equally recognisable but seemed as if it was trying to negate the other one. It was trying, and succeeding to a fair level, but not enough to stop it completely.

Harry's broom war rising steadily into the air, jerking and twisting in its attempt to unseat its rider, but it was only when the thing began to barrel roll that people started to notice.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered from behind him, a worried but suspicious tone lacing his voice. 

"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic. No kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd. _She_ is_ a smart one_, Toushiro thought as he watched her scan the teachers, having figured out the most likely cause of the jinxed broom was with them. 

"What are you doing?" Ron moaned, grey-faced and shaken. 

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape - look."

_Well, _Toushiro thought, _she was nearly there_.

Ron grabbed the binoculars from her before putting them up to his own face and facing the teachers. 

"He's doing something - jinxing the broom," Hermione told him as he looked. Toushiro sighed before mentally declaring them a lost cause, tuning them out and placing a hand on the side of the box, he and Neville were right at the front of it, channelling his own reiatsu into the wood, effectively freezing it. The thin strip of ice continued its way down before creeping up the box holding the teachers, heading towards a specific turbaned man.

Reaching him, Toushiro made the ice freeze the man's shoe, breaking his concentration just as Snape leapt up with a yelp of fright, the potion master's own concentration breaking as fire erupted on his cloak, no doubt courtesy of Hermione.

His own concentration was broken by a small gasp from beside him, and panic flared in his mind as he quickly looked at Neville, realising that he had, stupidly, forgotten about the boy sitting next to him. Sighing silently in relief when he saw that Neville's eyes were on Harry, who had just pulled himself back onto his broom, he pulled himself together, taking his frozen hand away from the wood and allowing the ice to retreat, leaving a small wet patch where it had been.

Turning his attentions back to the game the young captain felt his eyebrows rise in surprise as the raven haired seeker began plummeting towards the ground, one hand clapped to his mouth as though he was about to be sick. He hit the field on all fours, causing Neville to gasp again and the whole stadium to hold its breath, coughed and something gold fell into his hand. 

"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted triumphantly, waving it above his head with his eyes alight. The game ended in complete confusion, no one truly understanding what had happened.

"Come on Neville," Toushiro muttered to the seemingly frozen boy beside him, following as Ron and Hagrid left the stadium box in order to coral Harry. The next he saw of them they were walking towards Hagrid's hut, Hermione having joined them.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining as Toushiro and Neville entered. Hagrid was pouring tea, but welcomed them in with a smile and a nod. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering. He wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," Hagrid scoffed, not having heard what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Toushiro turned to Neville, realising the boy hadn't been in the room when Harry had come in the night before, telling them of Snape. But the round faced boy seemed lost in thought, causing a small frown to settle on the young captain's face. Eventually Harry decided to tell the truth. 

"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid quietly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped the teapot causing Neville to jump, blinking like he didn't really know what was going on before focusing on a stunned looking Hagrid. 

"How do you know about Fluffy?" the giant asked accusingly, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the group of students. Toushiro raised an eyebrow.

"Fluffy?" he asked, his voice incredulous. Hagrid looked at him, his expression one Toushiro couldn't place, but it bordered on thoughtful while and the same time suspicious.

"Yeah…he's mine. Bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year. I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the…"

"Yes?" Harry asked eagerly, drawing the man's attention towards him instead. Toushiro cursed mentally. If the man would answer anyone it would have been himself; he had been hoping the keeper of the keys would have forgotten the others were there. As it was the man reacted exactly as expected. It would have been nice for the others to know about the stone, but he couldn't exactly tell them himself. 

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it."

"Rubbish," Hagrid repeated. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher; he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.

The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape. Toushiro sighed before making a decision. Pulling himself up straighter he waited for Hermione finish her rant about jinxes before clearing his throat, effectively cutting of Hagrid's reply and gaining the attention of the entire hut.

"Snape was not the only one keeping eye contact with Harry while his broom was going wacko."

There was silence at his words before Hermione frowned.

"What do you mean exactly?" her eyes were alive with the competition of information, her natural competitiveness getting the better of her as she crossed her arms, daring him to speak. Toushiro nearly scoffed but restrained himself, instead merely levelling her with a cool look that clearly spoke of his authority of the subject.

"What I mean is that the entire stadium was looking at Harry, why is Snape different?"

"Because Snape wasn't blinking!"

"Neither was Quirrell."

His words did there job, effectively quelling Hermione's argument. She glared at Toushiro as he smirked for a couple of seconds, her mind searching for a comeback before Hagrid cut across them, annoyance clear in his voice. 

"Stop it now, both of yeh! I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student and neither would Quirrell!" Toushiro noticed he didn't look so confident about that one and realised he must have been told. "Now, listen to me, all of yeh. Yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin'; that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

"Aha!" Harry cried, grinning widely at Hagrid's fumble, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

**xxx…xxx**

As they walked back up to the castle, Neville found himself retreating into his thoughts again, his pondering always leading him to one thing; Toushiro.

He had seen his friend turn his hand to ice during the Quidditch match, having turned to ask the boy a frightful question before seeing him, his eyes glazed over in concentration and his hand steaming from the sheer cold of the ice beneath it. He hadn't been able to stop the gasp from pushing itself from his throat but had, thankfully, been able to pull his eyes away from him quick enough to pretend he was still watching the game.

He had heard the nearly inaudible relief his friend had shown, but it had taken all his self control to keep his eyes trained on Harry as the seeker plummeted towards the ground. After that he had allowed himself to be dragged around, finding no need to be involved in the conversation. He had never been so thankful for his friend's preference for silence in his whole life; it gave him chance to think without seeming too suspicious.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, Neville was still in the belief that Toushiro had somehow tripped Malfoy over in the hall, but this was the first time he had, had some sort of proof.

He wasn't going to lie, the thought was scary. Toushiro could do things that Neville hadn't even known were possible, let alone for a first year. But there was also the fact that he could sense the power that seemed to flow from his friend whenever he used the odd powers he seemed to possess. What scared him most about _that_ was the thought that he seemed to be the only one able to feel it.

It didn't seem to be magic he was using, not exactly at least. The power felt familiar, but distorted; as if it was another 'brand' of magic, one he hadn't seen before but wasn't too unlike the one he used now.

It was something to ponder on at any rate.

Right now though, he felt his eyes roll to watch the back of his friends head as they walked, his wandering mind meaning that he had fallen back slightly from the rest of the group. Nothing had changed about Toushiro, nothing was different. He still held himself in the same way, as if older and somewhat wiser than he looked, and his cool expression was the same as ever. His hair was still as white as snow and his eyes an aqua blue, their depths holding a power and knowledge Neville was sure he wouldn't understand.

He wondered whether or not he should tell him, confront the white haired boy about what he had seen and felt…but decided against it. He wanted to wait for more proof and he wanted to keep his friendship with the boy strong, but he also, in some part of himself, wanted Toushiro to tell him about his power himself.

He wanted the white haired boy to be able to trust him, and to _know_ that he trusted him.

Sadness filled him as he realised that may never happen. Toushiro may never tell Neville on his own accord and the round faced boy decided that, if that were the case, then he would spend his life knowing that his best friend didn't trust him enough to tell him his biggest secret.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews I got for the last chapter, I don't know what I would do with out you guys! And so, this chapter was born quicker than the last, and once again I hope you can review at least once more for me. I love hearing what you have to say; it inspires me XD**

**Animeloveramy **

**Having a day of (almost) solid writing is good for her ^_^**

**AnimeAiedail**


	18. Chapter 17

**'_So tell me, what's it like living in a constant haze of stupidity?'_**_**  
**_**Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)**

**oxo…oxo**

Toushiro smirked slightly as he looked up at the clear night's sky. It was true that it was becoming colder as it drew closer to Christmas, but Toushiro found he was bored of the plain cold. He was sure he wasn't the other one either, though there was no way he would admit he was doing this for anyone's sakes but his own, as Neville had been complaining that it wasn't 'Christmassy' enough yet.

Toushiro, not having celebrated Christmas properly for a long while, had felt the need to ask the boy what would make it more 'Christmassy', his tone sarcastic, and had been shot back with the dignified answer of snow.

The white haired boy had scoffed at the time, glad his friend was acting normally again – Neville had been quite quiet lately – but now he found himself out on the roof of the castle at midnight, devoid of his Gigai. What exactly had compelled him to do it, Toushiro wasn't particularly sure, but he found that he didn't really care all that much, and instead turned his thoughts onto what he was about to do.

His smirk widening, he pulled out Hyorinmaru and raised it above his head; savouring the feeling of excitement as he activated his Zampacto for the first time in months. He had missed the feeling.

It had almost been lost in the time he had been at Hogwarts, and Toushiro knew that he should probably think about practicing a bit more. He had become so integrated into the wizarding problems he had almost forgotten his reason for being there. Almost, but not quite. Though he knew he had to wait to get to the right time period, he had to keep in mind his mission.

Then he pushed it from his mind and grinned.

"Sit upon the Frozen Heavens," he began slowly, allowing the power to flow through him as his Zampacto's spirit rubbed excitedly against his own before releasing it into the atmosphere. "Hyorinmaru!"

The sky went dark at his command, the clouds he so desired quickly forming as ice began to wrap itself around the blade. Letting the power build up again, Toushiro quickly slashed downwards, sending two screeching ice dragons into the sky before sighing slightly and sliding his Zampacto back into his sheath and watching as his dragons did their work, sending down the first snowfall of the year to rest atop the grass.

**xxx…xxx**

Toushiro woke that morning to the excited gasps of his dorm mates as they fussed over the several feet of snow that had descended during the night and was still falling.

"Toushiro!" came Neville's voice, and the captain dragged himself out of bed and over towards the excited boy, Neville deciding he absolutely needed to show Toushiro the snow.

Though it was the kind of behaviour that he would usually find annoying, Toushiro found he couldn't get annoyed with Neville for this, especially as it had been himself that had caused the snow in the first place.

The lake had frozen solid from his reiatsu and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban, something Toushiro found he enjoyed greatly.

The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. One of those owls had been Akira, bringing Toushiro another note from Dumbledore asking him to meet him in his office later that evening. 

"I do feel so sorry," Draco Malfoy started one Potions class, his snobby voice piercing through the chilly air, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Toushiro glared and the temperature of the room's already freezing air plummeted steeply.

Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.

Though it _was_ true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Then again, Toushiro supposed, neither was he.

Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once along with Toushiro. Ron and his brothers were staying too, Neville deciding it would be best also.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet were sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it. 

"Hi, Hagrid. Want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches in an attempt to see the normally unmissable giant.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron." Hagrid replied, his voice gruff from both the cold and exertion.

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them.

Toushiro scoffed. "Would you mind getting off your high horse and learning some manners?"

Malfoy's piercing grey eyes turned on the white haired boy, his nose wrinkling in disgust at being talked back to.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" he spat before turning back to Ron and Harry, both of which were glaring at him intently. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose. That hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs. 

"WEASLEY!"

Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes, looking up at the approaching teacher in shock. Toushiro almost sighed. What timing. 

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," Hagrid defended, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," Snape replied silkily, his eyes gleaming. Toushiro bristled at the man's obvious favouritism "Fi-"

"Technically, _Professor_, they were not fighting."

Toushiro's snide voice cut across Snape's, bringing all eyes onto him. Snape's eyes narrowed as he glared at Toushiro, seemingly debating exactly what he should do. Toushiro's eyes were cold and warning; Snape knew he wasn't to be messed with but his pride didn't like the fact that he would be relenting to a student.

He didn't seem to see much choice in the matter though, instead letting a sneer pull itself across his face before covering his lack of power with a loud and angry sounding dismissal.

"Move along, all of you."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere with confused and annoyed expressions, Snape following sourly behind. 

"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him…"

"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape. But how on earth did you get Snape to back down like that?"

His question was directed at Toushiro who looked at him for a moment before shrugging. None of them noticed Neville's hard stare.

"Come on, cheer up. It's nearly Christmas," Hagrid tried, his face lighting up as a thought crossed his mind. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So they followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations. 

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree…put it in the far corner, would you?"

The hall was covered in multi coloured decorations. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. McGonagall's eyes flickered towards Toushiro for a moment before looking away again, causing a small frown to appear on his face as he pondered the meaning behind the look.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked, watching the group as they surveyed the hall, his crinkled black eyes beaming. 

"Just one," Hermione replied, smiling slightly at the giant. "And that reminds me –guys, we've got half an hour before lunch; we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," Ron replied, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree. 

"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays. Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

Toushiro held back as Neville followed the others, their voices growing faint as they left the hall; not even realising he wasn't with them. Instead, he walked over to McGonagall, intent on finding out about the look. She was standing beneath the new tree, making sure it would stand up right and not topple over, before turning round when he approached.

"Ah…Mr Hitsugaya." She greeted; the same look in her eyes as before. The Professor glanced around, behind him, before letting out a breath and focusing her gaze back on Toushiro, the captain more confused than ever. "I need to ask you a favour." She told him quietly, causing his eyebrows to rise in surprise.

"What?" he asked back, too startled to remember to be polite.

"I was wondering, with your unknown powers, if you would be able to decorate this tree before lunch. There isn't enough time for me to do it on my own and all the others are busy."

Toushiro blinked.

"You want me to decorate the tree?" he asked sceptically. She nodded, seemingly choosing to ignore his tone. Toushiro sighed before looking up at the large fern. He couldn't remember the last time he had decorated a tree but the look in his transfiguration teacher's eyes – which he _still_ couldn't quite place – caused him to sigh.

"Fine. Give me a moment while I 'change'"

She nodded at his answer, giving him a small smile, thanking him and walking away.

Toushiro grumbled internally as he moved around the other side of the tree, ditching his Gigai when out of sight before appearing again on the other side. For a moment he just stood, admiring the other trees in an attempt to find inspiration. But then he grabbed a couple of strings of tinsel and flash stepped up the tree, hanging things here and there before adding his own, home made icicles onto a couple of the branches.

He smirked. They looked so much better than the ones the teachers had made, Hyorinmaru made sure of that. Some of them even came out dragon shaped, not that anyone would notice from the height.

When she was finished he flash stepped back down, admiring his work with a small smirk. He wouldn't admit it but he had had fun. He only wished that Neville might have been there to help him…not that he would ever admit to that either.

"Very nice Mr Hitsugaya," McGonagall applauded, her tone impressed as she looked down at the young captain. He only shrugged, not looking at her.

Suddenly, he frowned. He was acting like a child, and being treated like one. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed or wanted to continue. If it did continue he would be in grave danger of forgetting his true objective here.

Respect was something you couldn't earn as a child – no one took you seriously – and was something he always found himself striving for, especially as the youngest ever captain.

So he walked away, deciding to himself that he would stop being so childish. It was humiliating.

McGonagall said nothing, still staring up at the tree in wonder. Toushiro found himself wishing he could take it all back down.

Quickly finding a deserted alcove, Toushiro popped the Gigai pill into his mouth, shrugging slightly as it formed around him, becoming the student again for all to see. He pursed his lips at the thought before moving on, making his way slowly to the library.

"Oh, Mr Reaper!"

Keeping back his irritation, Toushiro turned to see Helena Ravenclaw drift over to him, a small smile on her face. All in all the ghosts tended to stay away from him, fearing him or just preferring to stay away he didn't know nor care, but a couple of them, Helena being one, had tried to make friends with him. He had found Helena to be the only one he could stand but even now her appearance was pushing at his patience.

"Yes?" he answered sharply, causing the ghost's smile to falter slightly before coming back with a hint of worry.

"I apologise now if I'm bothering you, but I wished to ask you how your mission was coming on." She asked him, her voice hinting at her worry and wariness of his mood. Toushiro frowned slightly before shrugging.

"The status hasn't changed a great deal." He replied shortly, wanting nothing more that to be on his way but not having the heart to tell the lady so. She was one of the only ones who showed him the respect of his title.

"I see," she replied slowly, her silvery eyes penetrating his face as they scrutinised him. She seemed to be debating whether or not to ask him something. She turned slightly, as if making to float away before turning back quickly with a concerned look on her face. "Not to sound rude good sir, but are you ok? You seem distressed."

The young captain sighed heavily before allowing his facial features to relax slightly from the hard frown they had been in. He knew she was truly worried about his health and could not blame her for that, nor feed her some lie. He wasn't about to pour his soul out to her though.

"Do not trouble yourself with it my lady, I shall be fine." He replied before nodding his head respectfully and continuing on down the corridor, pausing slightly in surprise when he almost ran into Neville, the boy having being walking in the opposite direction round the corner.

"Toushiro," the boy greeted with a small frown, "where on earth were you?"

The white haired boy shrugged slightly before answering, attempting to sound normal.

"Professor McGonagall wanted to see me." He explained bluntly. It was technically the truth.

Neville's frown deepened.

"What about?"

"Something about redoing my last essay."

Something in Neville's face at these words made Toushiro uneasy. It was almost like he didn't believe him, but had no proof of the contrary. Maybe he wasn't putting on as good an act as he thought.

Neville said nothing however, merely turning so that he was facing the right way before continuing along with Toushiro towards the library; apparently the boy had been looking for him, a thought that made his heart swell in a way he had never really felt before.

It brought a smile to his face though, effectively freeing his mind of the concerns of being a child for the time being. He could worry about that later.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader,**

**Ok, I know this is somewhat a…filler chapter you could say, but I thought it might be nice to see more of this side of Toushiro. If not then fine, I'm not really sure about this chapter myself, but I hope that you like it. There should, hopefully, be more in the next one and should be more interesting. Please review and tell me.**

**Animeloveramy **

***sits contentedly in Library betaing and wonders why everyone is staring until he realises he has been humming Christmas tunes to get in the mood***

**AnimeAiedail**


	19. Chapter 18

**'_If you believe it was destined to happen it is most likely to happen, if you believe nothing has been decided then most likely nothing has been decided.'_**_**  
**_**(xxxHolic)**

**oxo…oxo**

Neville sighed, laying flat on the covers of his bed with a small frown set on his features. The day had been a tiring one, his thoughts having taken up most of his time and concentration. Toushiro had excused himself at dinner, muttering something about McGonagall wanting to see him in her office before walking away.

He hadn't arrived back at the common room yet.

So Neville had retreated to the dorms, deciding they would be a better place for him to ponder upon his friend's, not new, but recently noticed strange behaviour. It wasn't the first time he had disappeared for a time but it was only now that the boy had noticed it. Only now he had a reason, whatever that reason was, to be suspicious of him.

Oh Neville still trusted Toushiro with his physical wellbeing, but he knew now he was being lied to and so was more adept at spotting those lies. And the evidence just kept stacking up. Thinking back to earlier on, he contemplated what he had seen and heard while looking for his friend.

"_Oh, Mr Reaper!" _

_Neville had been wandering through the corridors when he had heard the grey lady's call floating from just around the corner. He had thought nothing of it…until he heard the voice that answered her. Pausing, he had poked his head around the corner, startled to see the white haired boy he was looking for turning towards the silvery ghost._

"_Yes?" he had answered sharply, causing the ghost's smile to falter slightly before coming back with a hint of worry. His tone was not one Neville had heard before and the harshness of it chilled him slightly. _

"_I apologise now if I'm bothering you, but I wished to ask you how your mission was coming on." The ghost asked him. Mission?_

"_The status hasn't changed a great deal." Toushiro replied shortly. The boy's voice was curt and unwelcoming, yet strangely polite at the same time. Neville couldn't fathom it, but from the words that were being spoken he guessed that there was so much more going on than he had ever suspected._

"_I see," The Grey Lady replied slowly, "Not to sound rude good sir, but are you ok? You seem distressed." _

_Neville watched as Toushiro sighed heavily, seemingly deflating under her question. The boy frowned at his friend's obvious distress; he seemed…tense. _

"_Do not trouble yourself with it my lady, I shall be fine." He replied before nodding his head respectfully and continuing on down the corridor. Neville let in a breath and taking a few steps backwards before pretended to be walking around the corner, purposefully walking into his friend as they both rounded the corner at the same time. _

Neville sighed before turning onto his side, so many questions floating around in his head that it hurt to think of them all. Why had the ghost called Toushiro 'Mr Reaper'? What was this mission they had been discussing? What had been causing the white haired boy to be so tense? And, most importantly, who was he really?

These were questions he desperately wanted to answer, but he also realised that there must be a reason that Toushiro wasn't telling him. He respected the boy's privacy and trusted him. He wasn't about to go snooping about in his friend's life, no matter how tempting it sounded.

"Neville?"

He looked up, spotting the bespectacled boy who had spoken standing in the doorway, a confused frown on his face. Neville smiled slightly, sitting up.

"Hello Harry." He greeted, watching as the boy walked further into the room, sitting on his own bed just across the dorm. They were the only ones in there and Neville found he liked the comfortable silence produced. Harry, however, looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it.

"I was wondering, Neville, if there was something wrong between you and Toushiro?"

Neville blinked at him in surprise.

"Something wrong?"

Harry shifted nervously in his seat. Neville would have bet any amount of chocolate frogs he had lost in some game or another – most likely rock paper scissors – to come up here and talk to him.

"Yes, well, it's just that you seem to have become a bit more…distant than you used to be."

Neville's eyebrows furrowed as he took in Harry's words. He hadn't really realised it but he supposed he had been quieter than usual, using more time than he had before to think about whom or what his new friend may be. Then again, he hadn't thought it was as much as for Harry to notice.

"Did Hermione ask you to talk to me?" he asked. Hermione was the most observant out of the three and the most likely to spot a change in behaviour. The sheepish smile on Harry's face told him the answer immediately and he held himself back from sighing, instead allowing himself to collapse back onto the bed. "Figures."

"Come on Neville," harry tried, "you can talk to me."

"There's nothing wrong harry," Neville replied, "I'm just a bit tired is all."

Harry looked unsure, but didn't want to push him too hard. So, also fairly happy for a way out, he nodded slightly, got to his feet and walked back out the door. Thankful for the peace, Neville closed his eyes. Maybe he could clear his mind and get some sleep; he felt like he needed it.

**xxx…xxx**

Toushiro muttered quietly as he made his way back from the headmaster's office. He had thought it would have been something rather more important than a simple update report. Apparently his usual owl ones weren't enough and the man now wanted him to update personally once a month meaning more time he would need to sneak away from the others.

He had to admit that it wasn't really a prospect he looked forwards to.

Passing by one of the large windows that looked out onto the grounds, Toushiro paused. Down on the ground there was a figure, darkened by night, heading straight for the forest. Frowning, he felt around for the person's reitsu, hoping to identify it. When he found it however, it wasn't one he had ever felt before.

That meant it shouldn't have been there.

Over the months of time he had been at the school he had gotten to know everyone's reiatsu signature at some level or another and if the person down there was someone from either the staff or the teachers, he would have felt at least the tiniest familiarity of it.

Suspicion a major feeling in his mind, Toushiro pulled himself up onto the window still, out of his Gigai, and dropped down to the ground, landing lightly and silently onto the grassy floor below.

Flash stepping quickly he caught up with the cloaked figure a few paces into the forest. He took to the trees, finding it the easiest way to keep watching the man without being seen. It wasn't a particularly eventful trip for a bit, the figure just proceeding deep into the forest with no clear intentions as to what he was doing and why.

It was about half an hour after Toushiro had first caught sight of the figure that they stopped, crouching down behind a fallen tree with their wand in hand.

_Definitely a wizard then_, Toushiro thought as he carefully repositioned himself in order to see what ever it was that this person had seen. His eyes widened considerably at the sight that met his eyes.

On the other side of the fallen tree, in the middle of a small clearing, was a group of three unicorns, their pure white fur gleaming in the light of the moon that cast between the trees. It was probably the most beautiful thing Toushiro had ever seen and he found himself forgetting momentarily about the figure he had been following. That was until they spoke, their voice rasping and obviously male as they lifted their wand up to point at the unsuspecting unicorns.

The captain didn't hear what the man said but he watched in horror as a jet of green light hit the middle unicorn in the chest, sending it toppling over. The other two's head flew up, not sparing the unveiled figure a second glance before bolting, terror filled, into the trees.

The man carefully slipped his wand back into his cloak before pulling out what looked like a small dagger and walking towards the motionless unicorn, kneeling down beside it before slitting its throat; the unicorns silvery blood flowing steadily over his hand. If it wasn't dead before it certainly was now and Toushiro felt a jolt of sadness of the loss of such a beautiful creature.

The young captain shivered in disgust and anger as the man then proceeded to lick the blood from his hand, doing it slowly and gently as if he enjoyed the sensation of the blood covering his tongue. Toushiro just found it gross.

Suddenly, he found himself catapulted off of the tree branch, pounced on by an unknown creature who had taken advantage of his distraction to send him crashing loudly onto the ground, the creature on top of him.

Cursing mentally, Toushiro rolled over, trying to flip them so that the creature, which he had realised was a giant _spider _of all things, was on the bottom but he rolled to far and the pair of them went thudding into a small ditch. The jolt was enough to stun the spider though, giving Toushiro the time to unsheathe Hyorinmaru and send it hurtling through the spiders gut.

The beast shuddered slightly before collapsing onto its side, its eight legs curling inwards in its pain.

Toushiro let out a small breath of air, removing his Zampacto from the animal, cleaning it as best he could on the shrubs and sheathing it again. Then he took back to the trees, hoping to find that the man was still there, but he wasn't. The man had vanished, leaving the dead unicorn where it was. Quickly scanning the area he confirmed the man was gone, his reiatsu vanished along with him.

Letting his curse become audible this time he jumped down to the beautiful creature's side, kneeling next to it as he stroked a hand gently across its flank. Such a thing should not have been killed like this, nor left like it. There was so much purity and good will still emanating from the creature in death that it seemed wrong to just leave it there without any kind of burial.

So, Toushiro unsheathed Hyorinmaru again before running the unicorn through with it, creating a thick barrier of ice around it. It meant that the unicorn could be seen by those around it, but could not be harmed or scavenged by other creatures such as the spider. It was a tomb of unmeltable blue ice.

Standing back he took the sight in for a moment before flash stepping away; back up to the castle and towards Gryffindor castle. He needed to see Dumbledore again.

Not bothering to go inside, Toushiro flew to the headmaster's window; knocking sharply upon it and waiting for the old wizard to open it. He did so, and the young captain found himself looking into his surprised eyes, the man not realising Toushiro could get to his window…it _was_ quite high up he supposed.

"Mr Hitsugaya?" the wizard asked, his blue eyes confused, "how did you get up here?"

Toushiro resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Reaper, remember. I can fly." He reminded the man curtly before letting himself in through the window as it was obvious the man was too focused on trying to take in his 'new' abilities to invite him in.

"What is the matter?" Dumbledore asked, correctly assuming that there was a bad reason for the white haired boy to be there. After all, he hadn't been happy at the idea of coming to the office for no reason.

Toushiro explained, telling the old professor what had happened when he had left the office the first time, and all he had see after. Dumbledore listened intently, his frown growing deeper with all he heard.

"Well this is not good…you say you did not recognise their energies? At all?"

Toushiro shook his head and Dumbledore sighed.

"Thank you for telling me this Mr Hitsugaya, I will try to figure out what is going on. In the meantime you should get back to Gryffindor tower. You have been away for a while and people may be starting to wonder."

Toushiro nodded silently before leaving, this time by the door, and flash stepping back to the common room. His head was spinning as he walked through the portrait hole, his Gigai firmly back in place. He wasn't sure exactly what all of this meant and it annoyed him greatly. He didn't like not knowing something.

The common room was empty, a fact he was glad for as he padded wearily up the steps, only just feeling the strain that tension had worn on his body. He would need a good nights sleep tonight, but he wasn't sure if he would get it. Dreams had a way of replaying memories and his memories of today were anything but good.

**xxx…xxx**

The days following went quickly, flying by in a way that made Toushiro dizzy. He hadn't been in a place that celebrated the holidays quite as much as this for a good long time, if ever before, and it was tiring to keep up too much of a facade of joy. So he didn't bother. Besides, it would probably be stranger to the others than if he had been all happy-go-lucky.

Thoughts of the man still plagued his mind, but they were not overwhelming. He knew there wasn't any point in trying to find him, his reiatsu was no where to be found, and so he didn't bother very often. It made him uncomfortable but there was nothing to be done about it.

Christmas morning dawned bright and early, the excited shouts of the boys in the dorm waking him more effectively than any alarm clock. Opening his eyes groggily he blinked up at a grinning Neville, the boy's hands occupied by a small, round package. Harry and Ron were busy opening their own presents, a small pile of wrappings already surrounding them both.

"Merry Christmas Toushiro," Neville greeted jovially, and the white haired captain suddenly had the feeling that today was going to be an overly happy day that would grate heavily on his nerves. "Come on, open your presents!"

Toushiro groaned softly before sitting himself up in his bed, spotting the small pile of presents with something akin to excitement and doubt. He didn't exactly have a positive past with presents, mainly due to far too many of them given to him by his lieutenant. One year he had received some pink hair ribbons and clips that the woman had then proceeded to insist he wore. Then there were captain Ukitake's gifts of sweets that he pounced on Toushiro to give no matter the time of the year.

Tentatively, the young captain reached for the present on top, wrapped in shiny red paper. He moved it around in his hand for a moment, studying it intently, before opening it; Neville watching him carefully from where he stood in front of his bed.

Inside were a couple of chocolate frogs and a book. Ignoring the sweets, Toushiro ran his hand over the fabric cover of the book. It was obviously quite old from the cover, and had the smell he generally fixed with old books. Turning it to look at the spine he read the title, snorting at the irony and realising whom sent it at the same time. Only one man would realise the irony of – and be able to get their hands on – this book.

_The History of Reapers in Britain._

Dumbledore. Searching around he found a note slipped into the first page reading;

_Dear Toushiro,_

_I hope you appreciate this gift, I am sure you will, and that it was worth the trouble I had to get it. I expect that you shall find it very interesting. _

_Your loving father_

Toushiro felt his lips twitch slightly, almost a small smile, before he slipped the note back into the book and placed it beside him, along with the frogs, for later reading. The old man was right, he would find it interesting (and also highly amusing) to see what exactly was 'known' about the shinigami.

The next few were sweets, Chocolate Frogs from Hermione, Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans from Ron and some Fizzing Whizbees from Harry. Hagrid had sent him a small journal with a carved wooden cover and Neville had also gotten him a book, this one titled _'Magical games and their origins'_.

Looking up he made to thank his friend, whom was now sat on his own bed, before pausing as he noticed the scruffily wrapped package in the boy's hands; the captain had never been good at wrapping presents.

Toushiro had struggled on a present to get for Neville, pure sweets not seeming enough like it had for Hermione, Ron and Harry. He had spent several days in the library, finding it the best place to think and, eventually with nothing else coming to mind, had created an ice photo frame with Hyorinmaru before casting a small charm on it to make it so that it would never melt.

The frame was delicate, oriental looking patterns swirling with small snowflakes dancing among them. In the corner there was his squad symbol, the cross of the number and flower. The boy wouldn't know what they meant but for some reason Toushiro thought it important that they be there. He wanted to be remembered for who he really was, even if the person remembering didn't know whom or what that was.

Toushiro watched as the boy opened the present, never letting his eyes from him. When he pulled out the frame, Neville's eyes widened in wonder, causing a swell of something Toushiro could hardly ever remember feeling before flooded through him.

The round faced boy traced a finger over the design, a small smile on his face as he touched the cool ice. Then he looked up, meeting Toushiro's aqua eyes with his own deep blue ones.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, his eyes curious yet somehow it seemed as if he already knew. This made the captain vaguely nervous, this knowing in Neville's eyes, and it made him suddenly want to tell the boy everything. But he didn't, scolding himself for even thinking of doing so. Instead he shrugged.

"I found a slab of ice that had broken off from the lake, created the design and used a charm to stop it from melting." He replied, deciding that it would be best to claim he made it now rather than have to think of somewhere he could have bought it and perhaps have been proved wrong afterwards. That could have been devastating.

Neville smiled before looking back at the frame and muttering "thank you,"

Toushiro shrugged again. "Thank you for my book," was his reply.

Neville looked back up at him with a grin. "It seems kind of superficial compared to yours really."

The young captain shook his head with a small smirk. "No, its not."

Neville's grin widened.

Ron's yell broke their mutual moment completely, shattering the mood and causing them both to look over at where Harry's head was now floating. Neville gasped, his eyes going wide as Toushiro sprang to his feet. The next words, however, calmed their nerves.

"It _is _an invisibility cloak! Look down!"

Harry looked before scampering over to a mirror only to see his own floating head. Pulling the cloak further up and over his head he completely vanished from sight. _Now _that _could be useful._

"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"

Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Walking over to read over the boys shoulder, Toushiro read;

_Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.  
A Very Merry Christmas to you.  
_  
There was no signature but the white haired captain knew that writing anywhere. It was Dumbledore. There was no way he was going to tell Harry that though; not only would it be difficult to explain _why he knew_ but there must have also been a reason it hadn't been signed. So Toushiro wouldn't tell. 

"I'd give anything for one of these," Ron moaned as he surveyed the cloak, allowing its fabric to slide gently through his fingers. "Anything…What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Harry replied quickly, his eyes scanning the note again.

Suddenly, surprising all in the room and causing Neville to jump, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look - Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it; the other a G. looking at Harry Toushiro could see he was wearing an emerald green one, without a letter.

"Harry's is better than ours, though," Fred commented, bending down to study Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded, a frown on his face as he spoke to his brother. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron muttered half-heartedly, pulling it over his head.

Toushiro smirked at the pair. This was likely to be a rather amusing day after all.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear reader,**

**Well, this is quite a bit longer than usually and contains a fair amount of stuff…I hope you like it. I suppose you could say it's a bit of a treat. I really have gotten back into this story. ^_^**

**Animeloveramy **

**I would just like to say the above person is a genius.**

**AnimeAiedail**


	20. Chapter 19

_**At one time I had fallen for you,  
But your ignorance broke my heart in two.  
Now I have closed of the world but a few,  
And it is you who must bid **_**me**_** adieu.**_

**oxo…oxo**

It was a few days after that Toushiro found himself being woken in the middle of the night. His aqua eyes flew open and he searched the room for the disturbance that had caused him to wake, calming down when his eyes spotted two familiar figures muttering quietly under their breaths. The boys hadn't noticed him and were struggling to work out how to cover both of them with the silvery material the young captain recognised as the invisibility cloak Harry had gotten for Christmas.

He watched them for a moment before clearing his throat; quietly and effectively getting their attention. They looked at him in surprise before each giving him a guilty smile. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going after hours with an invisibility cloak I wonder?" he asked, all the while feeling like a parent scolding their children, a feeling he wasn't sure he disliked. Ron chuckled slightly but Harry looked vaguely irritated at being interrupted.

_Interesting..._

"Harry found a strange mirror while looking for books on Nicolas Flamel last night and wanted to show me. Said he could see his parents in it." Ron explained, his voice both guilty and sheepish. "You won't tell on us, will you?"

Toushiro thought for a moment before replying, not allowing any of his thoughts to appear on his face. "No, no I won't. But only if you let me come with you," he replied, letting a hint of a smile appear on his face. Ron grinned in answer.

The pair waited for the white haired boy to get out of bed before throwing the cloak on top of them and walking out of the dorm. They were walking through the library before they next spoke.

"So where is it?" Ron asked as they walked through the restricted section, his voice both impatient and excited. Harry didn't look at him, instead concentrating on where they were going.

"Well, I ran into Filch here so I should be able to retrace my steps..."

_Hopefully this won't take _too _long... _Toushiro thought as they walked back through the dusty books. As much as he loved the cold he didn't really like the idea of his toes freezing. That had been an hour ago and now even he was starting to shiver slightly at the drafty castle corridors.

"It's Freezing," Ron complained bitterly, his voice stuttering slightly as his teeth gnashed together, "Lets forget it and go back."

"No," Harry hissed, ignoring his own chattering teeth, "I know it's here somewhere."

Raising an eyebrow at the bespectacled boy's harsh and anxious tone, Toushiro said nothing; watching with little interest as a female ghost who had come to adore him slightly, much to his distain, passed by in the opposite direction.

"My feet are starting to go to sleep," Ron muttered darkly as they continued onwards, opening his mouth to start another moan when he was cut off by Harry's excited sounding voice.

"It's here - just here...yes!"

They pushed the door open to reveal what looked like a disused classroom, chairs and tables propped carelessly up against the walls. Harry ignored these however, throwing off the invisibility cloak and racing over to a large, ornate mirror that stood in the middle of the darkened room.

"See," he whispered as he stared into the mirror. Ron walked over to him, followed slowly by Toushiro.

"I can't see anything," the red head replied in confusion, causing Harry to frown slightly. Toushiro had to agree with Ron though; he couldn't see anything but Harry in the mirror.

"Look! Look at them all...there are loads of them..." Harry insisted, the intensity of his voice surprising both of the others in the room.

"I can only see you." Came Ron's reply.

"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."

Harry stepped aside, allowing Ron in front of the mirror. The red head gasped slightly at his reflection, his eyes wide and startled.

"Look at me!" he cried out, his gaze transfixed on whatever image was being shown before him.

"Can you see all your family standing around you?"

"No…I'm alone…but I'm different…I look older…and I'm head boy!"

"_What?_"

Toushiro filtered out their voices as the bickered, fighting over the right to look into the mirror. He was more focused on trying to sense the mirror's energy, and was surprised with what he found.

The mirror's magical reiatsu, which he had found felt similar to normal reiatsu rather only slightly distorted, was powerful. It had a strange, unfamiliar quality to it that made him suspect it was probably very old, and laced with a power from long ago. If he had to give it a name he supposed one would call it mystical, however much he disliked the use of the word. It didn't seem to be a harmful energy, though he would have to come back in his shinigami form to have another look.

A sudden noise in the corridor made him blink and the others to quieten. Looking at each other, they swiftly grouped back together, throwing the invisibility cloak over them just as Mrs Norris' luminous eyes peered around the door. The three were frozen, their breathing shallow as they waited for the cat to leave. After what seemed like an age to the two young boys and Toushiro knew was only about a minute, she left.

Harry and Ron both took a deep, shaky breath in.

"This isn't safe. She might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us." Ron whispered, eyes wide.

"You shouldn't have been making so much noise," Toushiro hissed, slightly annoyed at himself for not realising how loud they had gotten. The red head glared at him slightly before opening his mouth to retort, being cut of by Harry as he grabbed both of their arms.

"Come _on_," he growled under his breath, pulling them out of the room.

**xxx…xxx**

Neville woke the next morning to a depressed looking Harry, a rather tired looking Ron and a 'lost in thought' Toushiro. Wondering what on earth was wrong with them but knowing better than to ask, he sat down at the long breakfast table, watching them in silence. The awkwardness of the situation wasn't lost on him, as the four sat eating in silence. Due to the fact that it was still the holidays the great hall was unusually quiet and the fact that the group that were usually the loudest were silent only made it more so.

It was a subdued group that walked back up to the common room. As they all sat down in their respective places, as quiet as they were before. It was unnerving.

The boy watched as Toushiro got to his feet, walking quickly out of the common room without saying anything to him or the others. Ron frowned.

"Wonder where he's off to?" the red head muttered, his voice muffled with sleep. Neville, wondering the same thing, shrugged before turning to Harry with a determined look.

"Could I borrow your invisibility cloak please Harry?"

The bespectacled boy frowned at him for a moment, seemingly coming out of a daze before nodding slowly.

"Sure, so long as your careful with it," He replied before gazing back into the fire. "It's inside my trunk."

Neville thanked him and got up, hurrying to collect the silky cloth before racing back down with it, pulling it over himself as he slipped through the portrait hole. He was glad the boy hadn't asked any questions, but was also quite surprised at the fact. Harry was usually quite a curious person, especially when it came to things that involved sneaking around. There was no way Neville could tell them what he was really going to do though. Sneaking after his friend was a strange thing for him to be doing.

Outside the common room he ran, speeding down the stairs in search for the white haired boy he called friend. It wasn't hard to find him and the boy was soon walking a few steps behind his friend, intent on finding out what he was up to.

He was walking swiftly, but not in a way that would make onlookers suspicious. His face held no emotion other than the small frown between his eyebrows, his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets as he walked down the stairs. It was like this that Neville followed him, falling into step behind and watching him intently.

Neville was unsure exactly where his friend was going but he did know that it wasn't somewhere usual. In fact, as Neville looked around he realised he didn't really recognise this place at all. Brow furrowed in confusion he came to a halt as Toushiro stopped in front of an odd looking gargoyle, speaking for the first time he had heard that day.

"Sugar plums,"

The gargoyle shifted slightly before jumping aside, revealing a hidden staircase that Neville had never seen before. He followed as closely as he dared as the white haired boy proceeded to climb them, knocking firmly on the door at the top, waiting for a call of 'enter' before pushing the door open and striding through.

Professor Dumbledore was sat behind a desk in the middle of a large, ornately decorated room. There were things all over the place that usually would have bought Neville's attentions; however at the moment he only had thoughts for why his friend was visiting the headmaster and why said headmaster was looking at the white haired boy as if he was expected.

"Good morning Mr Hitsugaya," the professor greeted with a small smile. "What brings you here at this time?"

The white haired boy didn't speak until he was stood in front of the headmaster's desk, his hand still idly in his pockets and his expression blank.

"I wanted to ask you about that ornate mirror in the room by the library. Potter seems to be quite smitten with it, but it has a strange energy like none I have ever felt before."

"Ah yes," the headmaster replied, nodding his head slightly in recognition before moving slightly in his seat. "The Mirror of Erised. It was made many centuries ago by the great Merlin himself and was donated to the school by Rowena Ravenclaw in an attempt to keep it safe. It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts, but it gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

Toushiro cocked his head a fraction.

"What about Potter? He sees his dead parents in the mirror and wishes more than anything to be able to see it more often."

Dumbledore nodded. "If Harry keeps going to look at that mirror it will eventually consume him," he paused, considering something, before continuing. "It will be moved, and I shall speak to Harry. I expect he will go to it again tonight, and I will meet him there. You need not come with him this time."

Toushiro nodded, approving.

"There is nothing else to report. I have felt that unfamiliar…energy a couple of times but each time it had disappeared before I got the chance to catch them."

Dumbledore bowed his head slightly at the information before looking back up, his eyes settling on Neville, his bright blue eyes piercing through him and for one, gut wrenching moment the boy thought he had been caught. But the headmaster looked away swiftly, his gaze settling back on Toushiro.

"Thank you," he replied, "hopefully you will have more luck in the future."

Getting up, the old professor walked the white haired boy to the door, Toushiro shooting him an odd look at the move before leaving without another word. With Dumbledore in front of the closing door, blocking his way out, Neville found himself beginning to panic. But there was nothing he could do but wait for the door to close and watch as the headmaster turned back to his desk, a small smile on his face.

"So, Mr Longbottom, how long have you been suspicious of your white haired friend?"

Dumbledore's words caused the boy to start, gulping slightly before pulling off the invisibility cloak. There was no point hiding from him anymore if he already knew he was there. The old professor's eyes sparkled, his smile widening as he looked at the young student who stood before him. He knew Neville would be able to keep his knowledge a secret and was willing to tell him a little to help him understand.

"I don't know exactly," the boy spluttered, his hands fiddling with the fluid material of Harry's cloak in nervousness. "But sir, who is he exactly?"

Dumbledore sighed. "He is here to protect the school. There is something hidden here Neville, something that needs to be protected. That is why he is here. Do not worry, he is to be trusted."

Neville nodded, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

"Yes, I trust him. I just wanted to know what he was doing. He keeps sneaking around and there's times when I look at him and he seems so _lonely_. I just want to know so I can try and help him."

The headmaster didn't say anything, a thoughtful look on his face as he contemplated what had just been said. Then he nodded, slowly at first before a small smile began to grow back onto his face.

"Yes, that would be quite useful. Go back to the common room now and wait. I will send message to Mr Hitsugaya that you are to be trusted. I want you to be his cover up. When he sometimes needs to go missing for a bit, you will be the one to cover for him. The teachers will all know anyway, so it's for the students benefits mostly. Can you do that?"

Neville smiled and nodded, his nervousness being replaced by excitement. "Yes Professor."

"Good. Go then; Toushiro will find you."

Neville nodded before turning to leave, stopping and looking back when Dumbledore spoke again.

"Oh, and Neville? Don't do anything that will put you in any kind of danger. There are powers at work here that you cannot comprehend and your grandmother will murder me if anything happens to you on my watch."

Neville nodded before continuing out of the room.

Watching as the doors closed, Dumbledore leaned back into his chair. _This could become rather interesting, _he thought before picking up his quill and grasping for a piece of parchment. He'd better get the message to the Reaper as soon as possible, or Neville might just let it slip himself; something the old man knew wouldn't go down too well.

**oxo…oxo**

**Dear readers,**

**Well, here it is. Chapter 19. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to write it but first I was suffering from severe writers block, then my computer got a virus and killed my internet, before the computer itself decided to die on me. So I had no way of writing it, and no way of getting it up even if I could have written it. Right now, my internet is fixed, along with my computer but said computer doesn't have word, so I'm getting most of my writing done at school. That means it might take a little longer for chapters to come out but hopefully I should be able to write stuff. It is becoming harder though, with all this Neville stuff, but hopefully that will get easier due to the fact that he will now be helping Toushiro. So, I hope you like it anyway, despite the long wait. Please review! I never have any inspiration to write if I don't have reviews!**

**Animeloveramy**

**Umm I don't really know what to say after that… umm just we want more? Oh and Hakuna Matata I suppose…**

**AnimeAiedail**


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